What You Value Most
by Veronicat175
Summary: Rose disappears after being let out of prison, there is only one person who can bring her back... Dimitri. When he starts to have dreams of Rose's death, he wonders if he could have inherited his grandmother's powers. Can he find her before it's too late
1. What You Value Most

**Hi, this is VeronicaT. This is my first fanfic that I've ever published, and I hope you guys like it. **

**Rated 'M' because of language, suggestive comments, and (in later chapters) sex.**

**Summary:**

**When Rose disappears from court, after being let out of prison, there is only one person who can bring her back. The person who claims that his love has faded. Dimitri. When Dimitri starts to have nightmares about Rose's death, he wonders if he could have inherited his grandmother's supernatural witch powers. Rose is looking for Lissa's brother and The queen's murderer, and Dimitri is looking for the love of his life; Rose.**

Her cherry red lips were exceptionally bright as a dribble of blood was pushed forward by her tongue, like she was trying to push it out of the way of her airways. She gasped but nothing but a gurgle escaped her lips.

"Rose?" I whispered, pressing my hand against the bullet wound, blood swelling under my palm. My guess was that the bullet had fractured her sternum, probably hitting the trachea and possibly even the heart.

She choked again, a bubble of blood and saliva sliding from the corner of her mouth and down into her hair. "Rose?" I said again, this time louder and more franticly.

I pulled her up and onto my lap with the hand that wasn't trying to stop the bleeding and I supported her head with my upper arm, "Roza! Stay with me! Don't you dare close your eyes!" I said, grabbing her hand and squeezing.

Another large spurt of blood left her mouth and nose, covering the lower half of her face in the sticky crimson liquid. She stared up at me with huge dark eyes, like she was telling me that she trusted me and knew that I would be able to get her out of this. The she closed her eyes.

"No! No! No! No!" I shouted, switching hands and using the hand that was previously pressing down on the wound to hold her head up, "Don't go, Rose!" I said, "You better not leave me, you have to stay!"

I was frantic then. I knew that she was dying, and it would take a miracle to pull her back from the precipice.

"Please don't leave me." I whispered again, feeling the tears build behind my eyes. I blinked, knowing that if I cried, she would know.

She would know she was going to die.

She opened her eyes again. They looked so big and innocent, like a deer caught in the headlights, that I had to gasp for air, struggling as hard as I could against the tears that were muddling my vision and threatening to overflow.

I started a rocking motion, "Roza." I whispered, burying my face in her hair, and inhaling her intoxicating scent, trying to commit it to memory, "Stay with me."

I pulled back and looked into her eyes again, a dry sob escaped from my chest, but I still held back from crying

Her hand covered mine and she attempted a squeeze before she reached up to touch my face. Then her hand pulled a lock of my hair loose so that it drooped down. She then gently wrapped it around her fingers, holding it like it was her lifeline.

"Com…" she choked out through the blood. She coughed and tried again, "Com…Comr…"

"_Comrade_." She finally mumbled before another wave of blood filled her mouth.

"I'm here Roza. I'm here," I told her, continuing the swaying motion.

She blinked and smiled, a tear slipped from one of her eyes. Her lips moved again, but no words came out. I knew that her lungs were then so full of blood that it was all bubbling up her throat and out of her nose and mouth

She tried feverishly to say something but finally gave up and stared up at me with huge brown eyes. Her tears came harder, like she wanted to tell me something so important it couldn't wait until we were both reunited in the next life.

I nodded, slowly letting out a shaky breath. The tears built up to a point that they spilled out, running down my cheeks until they fell on her face.

"I love you too, Roza." I told her, looking her straight in her eyes.

My body shook when she smiled sadly up at me. Then she put one hand on my chest, directly over my heart, the one that had still been wrapped in my hair loosened and started to drop, but I removed my hand from her chest, instead holding her falling hand up in my hair. Then I lowered my face down to hers to press our lips together for my last bloody kiss.

"I love you," I whispered again when I pulled, but back her eyes were glazed over. I whipped a few tears off of her cheek with my thumb, but her eyes just stared glassily into mine.

My heart shattered. My world shattered.

_You will lose what you value most._

It wasn't my life… It wasn't even my soul.

_What you value most._

It was Rose.

I woke wheezing, clutching at the memory foam pillow that was tucked under the covers next to me. I swallowed hard, and rubbed at the damp trails on my face that the tears had made and sat up in bed.

The room was almost pitch black, other than the little sliver of light that was peaking though the gap in the curtains, casting a rosy rectangle of light to fall on the floor next to my bed.

I squeezed my eyes shut tight, still shaking from the dream. It was still fresh in my mind; tears, blood, eyes. Rose.

My sleep for the past month and a half was constantly a mixture of wet dreams and nightmares. All of them were about Rose, tonight's by far being the foulest and most graphic of all.

I disentangled the covers from my legs and swung them out of bed, wincing at the feel of the icy wooden floor against the soles of my feet. I quietly padded over to the door, hearing the electric whir of the coffee pot.

Once I stepped into the other room I was momentarily blinded by the light, before my eyes accommodated to the bright fluorescents. Dylan was sitting at the kitchen counter, one of his school books propped open against the milk jug and his glasses perched precariously on the bridge of his nose.

Dylan had been the only Mori they were agreeable to assign me too, seeing as I was on the bottom of the list for apt guardians ever since Valissa had turned me back into a Damphir. I didn't really blame the guardian council for still finding me treacherous, but sometimes I wished I could have still been assigned to the Princess.

I yawned and poured myself a cup of coffee, opening two packages of sugar and dumping them both in before stirring.

"You've been moaning in your sleep lately," Dylan told me, removing the glasses from his nose and looking towards me.

I was momentarily startled, "Have I?" I asked regaining composure and taking a sip of coffee, which scalded my tongue. Cussing in my native language I set it down, taking the milk jug from the counter and pouring some into my mug, trying to get it to cool down.

Dylan nodded, shifting his textbook so that it was lying flat on the table, "Nightmares?" he inquired quietly, not looking up from his physics book.

He had no idea.

I didn't answer so he continued, "You're not looking so hot today, why don't you take the night off, I'm sure that there's not a huge Strigoi threat tonight. And even if there was, they wouldn't dare mess with me and my awesome earth manipulating powers."

Yawning again I realized that I really wasn't feeling very well, "Maybe you're right, I haven't been feeling good lately. I'm probably not getting enough sleep."

"Yeah, go back to bed," Dylan said, biting his lip as he poured over his homework. Then he slammed his book shut, "Damn, I hate collage." He stated quietly, stuffing his book into his backpack. His glasses slipped off of the end of his nose, and I heard the little crack of shattering glass as they hit the floor.

"Oh, fuck it!" he muttered while I retreated back into the bedroom, "I'm getting contacts!"

I had to laugh at him sometimes so I chortled as I shut the door to my room and was submerged back into soothing darkness. I crossed the room and made to pull the drapes shut, blocking out the sliver of light that had managed to get through.

I stretched and opened the bathroom door, tuning on the light and looking at myself in the mirror. Since the beginning of this month my eyes had developed dark purple bags and my shoulder length brown hair was sticking up haphazardly. I attempted to smooth it down but once my fingers were done combing through it, little locks just stuck up again.

I sighed tiredly and stretched, walking back to bed after turning off the light. I sat there for a while, listening to a light but steady drum of rain against the window pane of our flat.

But I couldn't doze off, for every time I closed my eyes an image of Rose, her face covered in blood and her vast brown eyes staring up at me, would flash across the back of my eyelids.

I sighed, seizing my phone from the night side table and checking the time.

_7:43 _in the afternoon.

Valissa should be waking up about now because she was running on the standard nocturnal vampire schedule, just like I was.

I stared at the phone for a moment before finding her name in my contacts and pressing the call button.

She picked up on the first ring, "Hello?" she spoke as though she had been up for a while, though I knew I had probably disturbed her sleep.

"Hello, Valissa," I sprawled across the bed, my hands behind my head, "How are you?"

"I'm doing just fine," she answered, but I could hear the ache in her voice, "I just got back from court,"

This was how all of our conversations went. I called. She picked up. We talked about her. And then we talked about _her_.

"How is she?" I asked, knowing she would tell me that they were still debating about if she should be executed for murdering the queen, which we both knew that she hadn't.

She didn't answer.

"Valissa?" I heard her audibly swallow then she cleared her throat.

"Dimitri," she said quietly, "They let her out. It turns out that it was one of the royal guards that did it. They stole her stake to frame her. Everyone thinks it was about the new age law."

Her words took a more than a moment to sink in, and when they did my heart skipped a beat, "You mean they aren't going to execute her?" I asked optimistically, felling suddenly light headed and a smile tugging at the edges of my mouth.

"No, Dimitri. They aren't going to execute her."

I exhaled, letting out my breath, releasing the tension that had built in the pit of my stomach for the past month. They were letting her out, there was no chance of her being executed.

She sighed again, "Dimitri…" her voice was aggrieved and ragged, "She left. Rose is gone."

**Please Review! Thank you!**


	2. The Quest

**Hey guys, its VeronicaT, and I was sick all of yesterday, so I wrote all day, and here is the finished product!**

**I have a bad thing to tell you guys; my parents decided they are going to start cutting off my internet so I can't get on after about 11. That means that I'll have to start posting some time before then. SHIT.**

**This is the second chapter! (Obviously) and I forgot to mention some stuff yesterday in my A/N so here it is:**

**Rated 'M' for cussing, suggestive comments, sex (in later chapters), AND VIOLENCE (most chapters from Dimitri's point of view will be violent because of his scary Rose nightmares about her dying in the most horrific ways that I could come up with!) (And by the way, I forgot to tell you, each chapter will switch from Rose and Dimitri's point of view)**

**I would like to thank **_**laineylane03**_** for being the first person to review my story! I started writing this chapter as soon as she reviewed! So in other words; **_**laineylane03 **_**this chapter is dedicated to YOU!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

"**I believe Valissa would like to say something," VeronicaT say as she holds the fake glittery microphone out for the Dragomir princess.**

**She snatchers it away, "Don't call me Valissa! And definitely don't call me princess. I. HATE. IT. Dimitri only gets away with it because my best friend is in love wi-"**

"**Liss!" VeronicaT screams, whacking the princess over the head with the microphone stand, "I wanted you to do the disclaimer, not annoy the hell out of me!"**

"**Fine!" Lissa growls, rubbing the back of her head and putting the microphone speaking distance away from her lips, "VeronicaT owns NOTHING, other than a few characters, like Dylan and the bitchy receptionist lady (and whoever my sibling is… I don't think she has thought that far ahead yet though)"**

**VeronicaT stares at her for a moment, "I also own your attitude, because you are much nicer when ****Richelle is the one writing about you****."**

**CAN DIMITRI FIND ROSE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE?**

**Chapter 2**

There were no windows in the room, meaning that the sunlight which I longed to see so much wasn't there. Instead there was just those obnoxious rectangular office lights at regular intervals along the ceiling, illuminating every inch of the room. My fingers rubbed little circles on the fake wooden desk next to the computer where a Mori woman was looking up at me, perfectly plucked eyebrows arched high in confusion.

"St. Kasumi's?" she repeated, staring at me like I was senseless and not even attempting to sound pleasant.

I stared right back at her and crossed my arms over my chest as if telling her that I was not backing down. She exhaled loudly and shook her head, clicking on the keys more deliberately than necessary.

I was clutching a piece of paper in my sweaty hand with two scrawled names; _St. Kasumi's_ and _St. Aleksandr's._ Stuffed down in the side of my boot there was a crumpled letter from the deceased queen, telling me that there was another Dragomir somewhere in the world. Both were significant, but the latter was vital.

I had contacted Sydney two days ago, the instant I had been released from jail, requesting details about a Mori woman who had moved out of Las Vegas around the time of the car crash that I had been killed in. After being belligerent with me every inch of the way she finally gave up, telling me that there had been two, both with a child, and both moving literally half way around the world. I had then learned that the children had been transferred to these two academies, one located in Japan, the other in Russia.

She sighed again and shook her head, making her black curls bounce, "There aren't any positions open," she told me, and I hunched over the desk and glanced at the glowing screen, checking to make sure she wasn't being untruthful.

"Okay," I responded when I saw for myself that she wasn't lying, "Then what about St. Aleksandr's?"

She rolled her eyes and her lip curled up in displeasure as she typed something else in. And people told me _I_ had a bad temper.

Dimitri in particular liked to joke about that.

_Dimitri_.

_Love fades. Mine has._

Those four words seemed to wedge deeper and deeper into my heart every time I thought them. I closed my eyes, _he doesn't love you anymore_, I stated to myself for about the third time in the past two hours, and about the seven thousandth time since he first uttered them.

The lady cleared her throat, "There are a few openings here, they lost some guardians recently." She poised her impeccably manicured hands on the desk, her red nails gleaming in the bright office lighting.

I nodded, "Sign me up, and tell them I'll be there in four days at the most."

She shot me another peculiar look and shook her head, muttering under her breath something that sounded suspiciously like, "timewasting damphirs" and typing something else on the computer like she was being forced into doing it. I wondered momentarily why she didn't quit her job if it sucked so much, but I kept my mouth shut as I repositioned my backpack and turned to walk away.

"Oh!" I added as an afterthought, "Could you possibly keep this information private?"

No less than five minutes later I was shifting awkwardly from my right foot to my left, and then back again, standing in front of Adrian's door, debating on whether or not I should bother him, or find my own way in the world.

After bouncing on the balls of my feet for a good two minutes I raised my fist to knock. The door swung open before my knuckles even made contact with the wood to revile a rather ruffled and drowsy looking Adrian.

Before I could ask him how he knew I was there he said, "Your aura was driving me crazy, little damphir. I bet you're leaving again, aren't you?"

I paused and glimpsed inside his flat, then around the hallway, looking for a sign that Lissa was there. But one quick check through the bond told me that she was with Christian, and had no intention of leaving his bed any time soon. Once I was out of jail she had decided that she had to spend a full two days with me, but I knew that Christian, even though he tagged along with us most of the time, was jealous of the attention. So this morning I had brought this to her attention, and she had been horrified, dashing off to spend time with him, giving me just the opportunity I needed to disappear.

I nodded and stepped around him so he could shut the door.

When he turned back around to look at me his eyes were gentle and he reached his hand out to cup the side of my face. "You look good," I told him quietly, stepping closer to plant a soft kiss on his lips.

He permitted me to and kissed me back with a sweet intensity that made my heart do a little flip-flop. I loved Adrian, even though he would never have a place in my heart like Dimitri did, just about more than anyone else in the world. He was probably the third on my list of people I loved, coming in just behind Lissa. Dimitri of course occupied my first spot, even if he didn't love me back. Who knows, maybe _I _was number three on Dimitri's list, now that he had turned back from being Strigoi.

Adrian broke the kiss, pulling me against his firm, warm chest. I could hear the thump of his heartbeat through the crisp fabric of his white button down dress shirt. I buried my face against his neck, breathing in the scent of clove cigarettes and whisky.

"Rose," when my name left his lips his voice was husky and I could feel his breath on the top of my head. I shivered and stepped out of his hug, looking him straight in the eye.

He groaned and tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling for a minute before saying, "The bank account from the last time is still open, I'll transfer some more money in there for you," Then he disappeared into his bedroom, emerging again carrying a full duffle bag, "This is all I have," He told me quietly.

I nodded and unzipped it, reviling a bunch of cash wads. I drew half of them out, and then zipped the bag back up, "I'll be okay with just this," I mumbled, cramming them all into my backpack before cuddling back into his arms for a second hug.

"Rose," he whispered, putting both arms around me, "I'll always wait for you, even if Belikov comes around and declares his love, I promise I'll always be here for you."

I pecked his chest though the fabric, "I'm sorry that I have to leave," my lips murmured against his shoulder.

"Where are you going?" his voice was scarcely a whisper against my ear, "I won't tell Lissa, I promise."

My eyes drifted closed, "Russia, for now. I might go to Japan, later though,"

"Russia? But what about the Strigoi? They could still be after you," he said, pulling me away from him just a little bit so that he could study my face.

"I have to," I said, leaning my forehead against his, which required me to stand up on my tip toes, "I have to find someone."

"Who?" he whispered, his warm breath tickling my face.

I shook my head, "If I find them, you'll be the first to know."

He sighed and I knew that I would have to leave before Adrian was able to convince me to stay. After pulling back I leaned in and kissed him hard on the mouth for one more moment before I turned and headed for the door.

"Is there anything else you need?"

I was about to shake my head, but then I remembered, "I need a ride to the airport."

I heard some rustling as Adrian grabbed his coat and keys, "Come on," he said, pulling me out of his apartment and towards the court's parking lot. So much for leaving before he could convince me otherwise.

**You see that little button down there that says REVIEW THIS STORRY? I would like you to click on that, and leave me ideas, criticisms, names of your own fanfics so I can read them, or tell me how much you love it/hate it.**


	3. The Search

**BLEH! I'm so sick! I hate it! My throat feels like someone forced fire down my throat and my nose is all sniffily! (I don't think that's a word, but whatever!) Anyway guys, I'm sorry I didn't have the new chapter up sooner but I've been busy with school work and I'm about to take my driver's test… AH! So yeah, here is the newest chapter!**

_**Kill The Messenger – Jack's Mannequin**_

**And if you guys are wondering my cast for VA is:**

**Odette Yutman as Rose Hathaway**

**Henry Cavill or Ben Barnes as Dimitri Belikov**

**Isabel Lucas (as a blonde) as Lissa Dragomir**

**Tom Felton (brownish hair) as Adrian Ivaskov**

**and Tom Sturridge as Christian Ozera **

**DISCALIMER:**

"**Rose, do the honors," VeronicaT says, swinging her hand out as a gesture to all of her lovely readers.**

**Rose hesitates, "If I do, will you let me see Dimitri again?" she asks, her big brown eyes locking onto VeronicaT's.**

**VeronicaT shakes her head, "I have this story all planed out, and you don't see Dimitri again for a while."**

"**But…" Rose whispers, her face falling.**

"**Okay, fine, but this won't happen again," VeronicaT warns, before turning and yelling backstage, "Belikov, get your ass out here!"**

**Dimitri emerges, eyeing the audience, "What's going on?"**

"**Dimitri!" Rose yells, dashing over to the Russian and throwing her arms around him. Dimitri looks stunned for a moment before hugging her back, burying his face in her hair.**

"**This is taking too long," VeronicaT says, "I only own the plot line and some characters like Dylan, Lissa's sibling, and the bitch that helped Rose in the last chapter, but don't own Vampire Academy or, much to my regret, Dimitri."**

"**Did you just make a pass at my man?" Rose yells, furry radiating from her.**

**VeronicaT smiles nervously and glances around for an escape from the angry Dhamphir, "Anyway, back to your feature presentation!"**

"Gone?" I breathed, my mind racing. Where would she go? _Why_ would she go? Was it my fault?

There was a painfully long silence from the other end of the phone, I didn't even think Vasalisa was breathing, waiting for me to continue. "Dimitri?" she asked after I didn't answer for a long moment, "Are you okay?"

I swallowed hard, so hard that my throat throbbed and my voice came out painfully coarse, "Yes, Princess." I croaked, feeling the rawness of my throat.

I could hear her take in a breath to say something else but I cut her off, "I'm sorry if I woke you, but I'm afraid that I'm on duty and Dylan is about to leave for school." My voice had slipped back into that emotionless state that I pulled off so easily, though I could still hear the rough, deeply hurt emotions leaking out.

I hung up without waiting for a reply. Rose was gone. What if she was hurt, or scared, or alone? Or worse; what if she _wasn't_ alone?

I was immobile for an immeasurable amount of time, my eyes locked onto the fan rotating leisurely above my head. _I was afraid_. Could I really loose Rose? Not being in contact with her was one thing, but living in a world where she didn't exist was unfathomable. It would be like suffocating with oxygen all around you, always trying so hard to breath, but unable to expand your lungs enough. I didn't know whether I continued to gaze up for a few moments or a few hours, but I finally reached a decision.

I vaulted out of bed and crossed the room in record time, pulling of the sweats I had slept in and packing them in my duffle bag, which I had never gotten around to emptying. Rapidly I pulled on a pair of jeans and a gray t-shirt before heading for the door, bag over my shoulder.

Dylan was at the door, his broken glasses pushed up on his head and is shoulder bag at hanging limply at his side ready to go to school. When I came into sight he opened his mouth, no doubt to tell me that I should be taking the day off, but I pushed passed him, "I'm having a personal emergency, I should be back soon. I'll call you later and explain."

And with that I left, ignoring the guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach and tossing my bag into the backseat of my black SUV and driving away. It was hard leaving Dylan, especially since he was practically the only person I had talked to in the last three weeks, and I knew that he would be without any protection until I returned or someone else took my position, and that could be months, or even years.

The drive was and endless stretch of silence, other than when I called court to tell them that I was coming. I refused to turn on the radio, or even pick up my phone, which was the only interruption for the three hour drive, when Dylan called. By the time I had reached court, having convinced myself that I needed to get to Rose more than I needed to hydrate myself, my throat was so parched I had trouble speaking to the guard at the front gate.

"Guardian Belikov?" the title sounded forced and unsure, like he was confused about whether or not he had addressed me properly.

I nodded, "Hello," I said, my voice horse, and I received a startled look from some of the other guardians but they let me through, no questions asked. The night air had cooled considerably since I had left and now the pinpricks of light in the sky were bright against the blackness.

Exhaling loudly I asked myself, "What the hell are you thinking?"

In the last three hours, not only had I left my charge alone at collage, endangering his life, and possibly getting myself fired, but in the past month I had pushed away the only person who had ever meant anything to me, and now she was gone.

I parked the car in front of the dhampir guest building, and turned the key in the ignition, killing the car. I gazed out of the windshield for a minute before finally sighing and pulling the phone out of my back pocket and calling Dylan.

"Hello," I said as he picked up, "It's Dimitri."

There was quiet from the phone for a moment before Dylan responded with, "What happened? Why did you leave?"

Clearing my throat I said quietly, "It's personal."

"Is it Rose?" he responded almost immediately.

I was shocked into silence. How much did he know? And the big question; How did he know? I couldn't bring myself to lie, yet at the same time, I didn't want to acknowledge that anything was wrong, or that there was some way that he knew about _her_.

I tried to speak but instead I could only say, "I…" before I cut off the sentence I was about to say. I tried several more times, but I just couldn't form the words.

"You talk to her in your sleep you know," Dylan murmured, "You have conversations with her, I can hear them sometimes."

My lips parted to say something but he cut me off, "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No," my voice shook and I clutched the steering wheel tightly, "Not anymore."

He was quiet for a few moments before saying, "Do you want to talk about it?"

I sighed and ignored his question, "I'm at court, I just need to talk to her, then I'll be back, or I'll make _sure_ they assign you a new guardian." There was one thing for sure, I couldn't return without Rose; I didn't _want_ to live without her. And I didn't think I could.

"Okay," Dylan said, sounding rather skeptical.

"Goodbye, Lord Solovyov." I mumbled, letting the phone slip out of my fingers and drop on the seat beside me. Then I got out of the car. I didn't bring my cell, or my bag, I just got out of the car with my wallet and somberly made my way through a few gardens and towards the shops. The walk was pretty, with shady trees covering pristine, stone walkways leading between gothic stone buildings with ivy trying hard to find a foothold on the cracks in the rocks. As I walked, I turned my face towards the black sky and watched the little pinpricks of light that winked at me from behind the trees, and the outline of the leaves against the bright, white, shining moon. My mood cheered slightly, but nothing was the same without Rose.

I found myself in the café that I had been eating at on the day that Rose had been accused of murdering the queen. After ordering a cup of coffee and some breakfast, which consisted of an omelet and some pieces of toast, I made my way to the same table I had been sitting at on that day also. After hesitating briefly I slid into the seat she had taken; basking in the fact that she had sat here once, daintily, or perhaps not so, eating her chocolate éclair.

I had only been sitting there for about five minutes, making a list of people I should talk to in my head, when I was joined by Guardian Castle.

I immediately kicked myself for not thinking of asking him sooner; after all, he had been one of Rose's best friends since the Mason incident, and I trusted him to take care of her if it came down to it.

"Guardian Castle?" I asked as he took the seat across from me. He was wearing a black pair of slacks and a button down shirt, looking much more professional that I could ever pull off, with newly cropped hair and a radio hanging off his belt.

"Dimitri," he responded, dropping the formalities, "I heard you were coming, I was in the office when you called, so I thought I would come looking for you. What's up? It's not like you to leave your charge alone."

I shook my head, "It's nice to see you Eddie," I took a bite of my omelet as he started to drink some of his coffee.

"How have you been?" Eddies voice was cautious, as if he didn't want to say something offensive; perhaps trying not to bring up my recent being strigoi.

I shrugged and looked around for a moment, and finding no one that could overhear our conversation I quietly inquired, "Do you know anything about Rose?"

"Oh," Eddie said as realization suddenly dawned on him, "You heard about it then?" he asked, his voice muffled by the coffee cup he was holding up to his lips, the warm steam wafting around his face. Instead of answering I gave a nod of the head to confirm his suspicions.

"Not a lot, no." he answered, putting his coffee cup down, knitting his fingers together and resting his chin on them. "I didn't even know she was leaving," he mumbled His words, like his face, showed little emotion, but on the end I could hear a glimmer of pain in his voice, as if he was upset by the fact that she had left without so much as a word goodbye.

"When did she leave?" I could only bring myself to whisper.

With a shake of the head, Eddie said, "Two days ago I'm guessing, apparently Lissa was the last person to see her. They had been spending time together after she was let out of prison, but then when Lissa turned her back for a few hours to go spend some time with Christian Rose just disappeared. I've been to her room, it looks like she hasn't even moved out; I don't even think she took more than two or three changes of clothes with her."

I kept my face composed, trying hard not to show the amount of surprise I felt. She hadn't even said goodbye to Valissa? Her best friend didn't even know she was gone until it was far too late to do something about it.

I shook my head, trying to separate the thoughts from one another. Rose had left, and not told anyone of her whereabouts. It was like Russia all over again.

After a few moments of silence between us Eddie glanced down at his watch and downed the rest of his coffee, "I'm afraid that my shift is going to be starting soon, and I'll need to be getting towards the gate."

Nodding, I started to say bye, but something caught my attention, "Hey, who did you get assigned to?"

"Well," Eddie began, shrugging on his blazer, "I was assigned a Royal from New York, but after everything with you and Rose, they assigned me to Lissa."

"Good job," I said, shaking his hand as he left, felling a twinge of jealousy, "I know you'll be amazing.

My eyes fluttered open to stare at the gloomy white ceiling of my room. I groaned at the feel of tightness in the crotch area of my sweatpants. That was the only sign of the dream I had just been having, other than the sticky, sweaty feeling that coated my brow and palms. I propped myself up on the bed, taking in shaky breaths.

Images of Rose, naked and spread out on the bed, her velvety skin coated in a thin film of sweat, continued to work their way into my mind, both terrifying and thrilling me all at once.

I yearned for the feel of her; her fingers, her lips; what they could do to me. What they _had_ done to me. I couldn't contain my guttural moan as I recalled the last, and first, night we had shared together. That made my erection harder, if that was even possible, and for a moment I wished that the dream had finished me off, so that I didn't have to wake up in a state like this.

I would be dishonest if I said I didn't love Rose. I _had _lied to her. And I would give anything to fix that mistake.

It had broken my heart when I told her there was nothing left between us, but I had been sure to keep my face as utterly expressionless whenever I saw her, trying to trick her, and myself, into believing that. I thought it would be for the best, giving both of us a clean break from one another, but it didn't. That's when everything got worse.

I had never had dreams like that before, other than the occasional sleepless night. I used to get them every so often at the academy, especially after Victor Dashkov's lust spell. After I would replay it in my mind, drinking in every detail that I could remember; the feel of her against me, the throaty sounds that she made, and more delicious than all the rest, the was my name sounded when whispered out of her lips.

The dreams all but disappeared when I was Strigoi, after all, during that time, I didn't feel the same attraction to her as before. When she appeared in Russia, it was like my memories were gaining control over my desires. It took time after Valissa changed me back to realize that the only reason I loved her as Strigoi was because my Dampir-self had worshiped the ground she walled on. My logic, though I didn't realize it at the time, was, _She made you happy. She is still required to make you happy._ Between those feelings of belonging together and the pure lust I felt for her, I had convinced myself that I was in love with her.

When I came back, so did my former self. _All_ of my former self. But with it came the Strigoi me. My memories were mixed, somewhere between the true love that I felt, and the longing of possessing her. At first I mistook those feelings and attempted to withdraw into myself, enabling me to block Rose out. I told her the words that were far too clever for my own good at the time; "I've given up on you. Love Fades. Mine has."

That's when the wet dreams came back, and with them the nightmares. After waking up with blurry eyes and a sore throat from sobbing so hard, I was certain that my assumption had been wrong. I truly was in the deepest love you could possibly fall with someone.

But there was no way I could take her back. Not after what I had done to her. Not after I had made her into what she was at the weakest moment of her life. I had made her into a blood whore, and worse than that, I didn't give her a choice.

I was so mortified; afraid that she would see what I had been and the things I had done to her when she looked at me. And that frightened me more than anything I could have imagined.

I got up quickly and stumbled to the shower, lack of sleep weighing down on my feet as I walked. Once I was there I started it up quickly, not bothering to adjust the temperature when it was too cold.

I didn't want to do it; I _never_ enjoyed doing it, even if it did feel good, for it brought back recollections of Rose that I never liked thinking about, though I did far too much.

After drizzling shampoo on my palm and lathering it up I started a slick, satisfying motion with my hand, clutching at the shower handle and leaning against the cold wall as I closed my eyes, trying to lose myself in the ecstasy. I quickly brought myself to a sufficient, yet lacking, orgasm. I groaned her name in Russian as I came, wishing I could be holding Rose against me, kissing her gentle, tentative, inexperienced lips, instead of standing in a cold shower, watching as the water washed the soap from my body and down the drain, as well as all evidence of my pleasure.

**Like it? Hate it? Review and tell me what you think!**

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	4. The Elite

**Okay… So, I know I said I would write form Dimitri's point of view, then switch to Rose's, back to Dimitri's, and then to Roses again (and the cycle continues!)… But Rose was being stupid… okay, not really; I was just having a ton of trouble getting my thoughts together… so that's why it was taking so long, in case anyone was wondering, so instead I continued from Dimitri's mind. So review and hopefully you like it!**

**Oh! And quick question; What is YOUR favorite book in the Vampire Academy series? (Mines **_**Shadow Kissed**_** because it's the last bit of time Rose gets to spend with Dimitri… and some of her more awesome powers start to show up.)**

**DEFINETLY rated **_**M**_** (violence, language, sex [mostly sex in this chapter, but violence too…])**

**DISCLAIMER: **

"**I don't own the Vampire Academy series, I just like setting up situations for the characters and playing it out…" VeronicaT pauses and nods, "It's like playing virtual action figures!"**

"**I thought it was pretty obvious that you didn't own it," Eddie says from where he is leaned up against the side of the stage.**

**VeronicaT shoots him a sharp look, "Well I guess some people are just stupid!"**

"**But if you look on the cover it says **_**The international bestselling series by RICHELLE MEAD**_**."**

"**Like I said," VeronicaT says as she gestures out to the waiting readers, "Some people are just stupid."**

**OF WITH THEIR HEADS!**

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I sustained my position in the shower, my right shoulder squished against the tiles and my left hand on the water adjusting nozzle, for a good three minutes. I didn't move my left from my softening member and my lips continuing to whisper her name as I leaned forward into the stream of water. I sighed as the warm liquid cascading down my back sharply turned cold, but didn't shift from my position. As a splatter of freezing droplets landed on the head of my penis I flinched, pulled my hand away, and quickly shut of the water.

I slid down to the floor of the shower and sat down with my knees drawn up to my chest and my feet resting on the little ledge that retained water and took a few deep breaths to clear my mind. Even after jacking off that terrible longing that had been wedged deep in the pit of my stomach for the last month was still there, and I couldn't stop replaying the night of our lovemaking over and over again in my mind.

I remembered explicitly how warm and hard her nipples were against my tongue as I greedily sucked on her luscious, milky white breasts and stroked the skin on her outer thighs. Her fingers tangled themselves in my hair and she squirmed beneath me, purposely rubbing her bare calf against my growing erection as my hands gently palmed her neglected breast and I continued to suck and lick on the other.

"Dimitri…" I heard her moan shakily against the top of my head, "Dimitri, stop teasing me!" she said a little louder this time, so I lifted my head and found her lips with my own, giving her a warm wet kiss that we both groaned into.

This had been the part I was most looking forward to, yet dreading at the same time, for I was about to find out either she in fact _had_ slept with someone before me or I would have to break her hymen, which would no doubt hurt her, and I didn't want to cause her even that little discomfort.

I flipped us over so that she was straddling my waist, her knees on either side of my hips, and placed gentle, soft kisses against her lips as she hooked her finger around the elastic band of my boxers and slid them down my thighs until they were out of her reach, and I pulled them the rest of the way down with my feet.

"Roza," I whispered while lowering her pelvis against mine, she had yet to take off her underwear but I could still feel the wetness of her core against my throbbing member.

Wrapping both arms around me, she pressed her lips firmly against mine in a frantic kiss, which I enthusiastically returned, swiping my tongue against her lips and into her mouth as she gently sucked it in, raising a growl in my throat.

She rubbed herself against me, desperate for friction and I could help but yank her panties off and down her legs, and before either of us could comprehend what was happening I was between her legs, ready for the first thrust.

"Roza?" I whispered, suddenly panicking that she might regret this later, "Are you sure?"

I wanted her to say no, that she in fact had decided she wanted to wait until she had graduated and we couldn't get caught, and yet at the same time, if she did, I wouldn't be able to turn back.

She just arched her back against me, her nipples brushing against my chest and legs spreading further as she stared at me, her eyes endless pits of love and desire. That was all the acceptance I needed, and slowly pushed in.

But Rose froze up and stopped me, "Dimitri," she wined, "It hurts."

I turned us back over and leaned down to kiss her ear lobe, "I know," I whispered against the skin, trailing little kisses along her jaw, "It does at first, but I have to break your hymen or we can't do this."

I felt bad about it, but I desired her so much that moment when she nodded her head, and said, "Okay, now," I thrust harder than before.

She cried out as I filled her and was surprised at how warm and tight she was around me, but when I cease to move she looked up at me with warm, tender eyes and whispered, "Love you."

I lightly brushed my lips against her forehead, and down her cheekbones, and over her eyelids, before finally trailing them down her nose and kissing her silky lips, "I love you too. I'm sorry it hurts," I mumbled into her mouth.

She shook her head and her hips began to move against mine, taking us both to a physical high that felt so incredibly good. She was soon thrusting up against me, arching her back and trying her hardest to look me in the eye as both of our climaxes grew nearer.

I couldn't help but speed up, my body taking control over my senses, moaning as I felt her muscles clench around me as she came, my orgasm coming soon after. It felt better than anything I had ever done before, better than any girl I had been with, better than any time I had ever jacked off; it was like electricity running from my groin into every miniscule part of my body. It was like everything in my life, and everything I had ever done had been leading up to this moment, alone in the world with Rose, the most beautiful, amazing, talented person I knew. And it was that moment that I knew I could never be complete without her, and nothing would ever make me feel okay again if I was taken away from her.

"Oh God, Roza!" I moaned as I found release inside of her and let out a loud, "Fuck!" I was hardly able to thrust because of how tight she was, "You feel so amazing! Oh, Christ!" I said as I stilled inside of her and leaned my forehead against her's, letting our noses brush. I smiled down at her and she did the same to me, here eyelids drooping a little with sleepiness, and then I rolled off, not knowing whether she wanted space or if she desired closeness, like I did, but the question was soon answered as she yawned and snuggled herself against the side of my chest, her face against my neck, one of her legs thrown over mine.

"Dimitri," she mumbled after a moment of slowing her breathing, looking suddenly very tired and extremely adorable, "What did you say?"

I stroked the warm, bare thigh that she had draped over my legs, "What do you mean?" I asked, my lips against her hair as I breathed in her scent.

"Just now," she mumbled, her eyes closing, "You said something in Russian. When you were…" she trailed off and I raised my head to look at her, "You know," she blushed and looked away.

"Oh," I said, grinning at my ability to make her blush, "I didn't even realize I wasn't speaking in English," I kissed her forehead for a moment, "That's what you do to me Roza."

"What'd you say?"

"I was…" I searched for words, "Expressing how incredibly good you felt around me." Her cheeks redden again and I fought the urge not to smile, "I love you Rose."

She wiggled up on the bed so that she was looking me directly in the eyes and leaned forward and kissed me hard in response. I pulled her against me, my tongue slipping into her mouth to tangle with hers, and my arms going around her to hold the small of her back.

I was brought sharply out of my recollections by a loud knock on the door to the apartment, so, quickly and carefully, I got up, dried off and pulled on a pair of jeans. I draped the towel around my shoulders as I made my way to the door opened it to reveal a sullen, yet exited Valissa.

She stepped in quickly, "Nice to see you Dimitri," she said quickly, not wasting any time.

"Valissa," I answered nodding my head respectfully and making to pull on a clean shirt.

"Dimitri," she said, crossing her arms, "Please, for the last time, its _Lissa_."

A smile touched at the sides of my lips and I sheepishly said, "_Lissa_," motioning to the couch for her to sit down. She gingerly made her way over to it and sat politely on the edge.

"So, what can I do for you?" I asked, walking into the kitchen to pour her a cup of hot chocolate, since it was still pretty early, otherwise I would have offered her a soft drink.

"I was wondering," she said, sitting up so that she could see me over the counter top, "Why you came here."

I smirked to myself, not bothering to mention that I was trying to avoid her, "I'm looking for Rose," I told her quickly, walking back in to the living room and offering her the hot chocolate.

She took it, smiling in thanks as I sat down in the armchair across from her, "I figured," she said quietly, taking a sip and looking down at her knees. "Have you found anything out?"

I sighed, drinking a large gulp of my own hot chocolate as if it where vodka, ignoring the burn it left on my tongue and in my throat, "If I had don't you think I would be wherever she was?"

Lissa shrugged, trying to look nonchalant but only succeeding in seeming concerned, "I guess so, I know I would be too."

I felt my forehead crease in sympathy and I reached out across the coffee table and took her hand in mine, "Hey," I said, trying to get her to look up at me, and completely forgetting that she was a princess and I was no more than a body guard, "Lissa, I know it hurts," I cooed, squeezing her hand in mine, "But she'll be back, I know she will."

She shook her head hard and I saw that she was squeezing her eyes shut hard, like she was trying not to cry. "She didn't say goodbye," she mumbled very quietly under her breath, "She just left, like she didn't even care."

I got up and crossed to the other side of the table, kneeling in front of her and handing a tissue to her, "Lissa, look at me," She did and when she saw I was expecting her to cry she let out a loud, desperate sob, burring her face against the tissue, which was little more than a soft, flimsy piece of paper that was supposed to absorb tears.

I patted her awkwardly on the back, "Lissa, look at me."

She silently raised her head, her body shaking from the effort of trying to keep in her tears, "Lissa," I repeated comfortingly, "I'm going to go after her, it's okay, I'll bring her back, I promise."

And I hoped I could keep that promise, not just for Lissa, and not just for Rose either, but for me, because I wanted her back more than anything.

Suddenly the tears she had been fighting spilled over her eyelashes and ran down her pail cheeks, sparkling when the caught the light. She locked her eyes on mine, and with a single look she conveyed so many emotions and wishes and promises. It said she believed in me, and she knew that I could bring her back, that she was proud of me for working through this entire thing and she would be here for the both of us once I found her. But under that I could see that she missed me and that even though there was no possible way I could ever be her guardian again, she still thought of me as her protector.

Without so much as a sob or a hiccup she leaned in and hugged me hard, and I did the same. I took comfort in having someone to share in my distress and pain, and I think she did too.

And for the second time that night I was brought out of a magical moment by a knock on the door. Without letting go of Lissa, who had once again started crying on my shoulder, I called loudly enough for the person on the other side to hear me, but not loud enough to disturb Lissa to bad, "Its open!"

I glanced over to the door as a tall, thin, pale figure with a mane of flowing black hair made her way into the room. She had chosen this day to wear a striking teal sweater that brought out the blue in her eyes, and with that the large, ugly scar across her face.

She took in the scene before her with an air of humility and quietly asked, "Is the princess okay?"

I nodded and smiled weakly at her, "It's nice to see you, Tasha."

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I glanced guiltily around the room, confirming that I was the only Dhampir at the banquet, other than the guardians, who were all standing tall and imposingly against the walls, looking as if they were taking their jobs very seriously. All of my life I had been on the sidelines, watching all of these parties and meetings and wishing I had the freedom to participate, but now that I was out, being part of what was going on, I longed for my spot as a protector.

It didn't help that most everyone in the room kept glancing at me suspiciously, some looking at me as if I had hoodwinked Tasha into bringing me, and others like any moment I would jump up and start ripping out the throats of the royals. But even with all of the glares and sneers in my direction I kept my face a mask of complete indifference, only allowing myself to drop my guard when I was talking to someone I knew.

Once I had made sure Lissa was okay and she made it safely to Christian's room, Tasha had invited me to the banquet. And, thought I declined at first, she had convinced me with promises of being able to relax and eating more than the light café meals that were so popular around here. But after that night I was sure that the only time I would ever attend an event like this again would be as a guardian.

The tables were all circular and only had six chairs at each, so I sat with Tasha, Lissa, Christian, and Adrian, who I had nursed a sore spot for ever since I had seen the bite marks on Rose's neck and she had announced that she had been at Adrian's all night during the trial for murdering the queen. Though I knew it was a rather silly and incredibly egocentric wish, I had always felt better knowing that I was the only one that could be with her in that way. And even though I was far too vain to admit it out loud, some part of me was jealous of him and the fact that he could offer her all the things I couldn't; money, children, and someone to come home too.

Although I knew Adrian was better for her, and could give her a life that she couldn't even think about if she were to be with me, I knew that I would always love her, and even though I could try to stay away, some twist of fate would always bring me right back to her.

"I think she will," Lissa's voice snapped me out of the 'looking but not seeing' trance that I had been pulling off for the past fifteen minutes, once again making me a participator instead of a spectator, "Don't you, Dimitri?"

"Of course she will," Tasha cut in, sensing that I hadn't been paying attention, "Rose always comes back."

I nodded solemnly, "I just wish I knew where she was _going_."

"She said she would come back."

All eyes turned towards Adrian, who was taking a puff of his cigarette and looking out over the dance floor, where a few leisurely couples were twirling to the music. It took him a moment to realize that his statement got no answer so he turned slowly back towards us, before his eyes went wide with realization that he had given away something.

"What was that Adrain?" I asked, a bubble of anger building inside of my stomach.

"She told _you_ she was leaving, but she didn't tell _me_?" Lissa asked, a look of complete anguish on her face.

Adrian blanched and said quietly, "She borrowed some money, I have no idea where she went, don't even ask," but as his eyes swept quickly and nervously over mine I could see the lie working in his mind.

Christian started to tell Adrian off but the start of the speeches silenced us as we looked towards the stage. Most were no more than silly traditional toast to the queen and to finding out who the real murderer was, but a rather skinny looking Moroi woman stepped forward and raised her glass to Rose, calling her, "One of the best guardians we have," and apologizing for, "Keeping her locked up in a cell for a crime that she didn't commit."

I couldn't keep the smile of pride off my face when she mentioned what an incredible guardian she was, and I, along with the others sitting with me, let out some extra loud cheers and hollers when she was praised.

After eating our fill, which I felt _much_ better than the pathetic salads and wraps which were served at the cafés we split off into groups to dance or talk. Christian led Lissa out on the dance floor and Adrian, who we were all having trouble not glaring at, went off to seduce one of the Moroi girls into dancing. Tasha introduced me to some of the people there. Most were not very friendly, though some did try to be polite and include me in their conversations.

"What do you think of the new age law that they passed?" one of them asked me, not seemingly bothered at all by the fact that I had recently been Strigoi.

I glanced at Tasha, who gave a slight nod, as if telling me it was okay to speak. I cleared my throat and glanced at the rest of the people standing around me, "I, personally, think that it will just end up killing us," there were many scoffs and snickers at this comment.

"But your own student was perfectly well trained when she was seventeen and killed those two strigoi after being captured," another Moroi responded, sounding pretty bothered by me being part of the conversation.

"She was exceptional and trained harder than anyone I have ever known," I told him, awkwardly holding my wine glass, and noticing the lights were far too bright in the room, "Mason Ashford was seventeen and had two more years of training than Rose and look what happened to him."

Some of the people standing around me looked confused before Tasha said, "Mason was the boy with Rose that got killed."

As soon as she said this some of them seemed to reconsider their views and I cut in again, "And the only reason they got out in the first place was because the Moroi used their elements to aid their escape."

Tasha smirked and took my wine glass, setting it on a nearby table, before leading me onto the dance floor. We awkwardly spun for a few minutes before Tasha said quietly, "How have you been?"

I was startled but soon said, "Bad, very bad," and shook my head, trying to clear it of some of the dizziness that was setting in, "I should have been here."

She stroked the back of my neck, trying to sooth the hurt I felt, "You didn't know."

I closed my eyes to block out the light that was hurting my eyes then said quietly, "I think I should turn in for the night, I'm not feeling to good," I released my hold on Tasha and started moving towards the door, "I had a nice time tonight."

Once I got outside I tried to make my way across the court, seemingly unable to walk in a straight line and stumbling most of the way. When I got to the Dhampir apartments I knew I wouldn't be able to walk up the stairs so I took the elevator, practically falling flat on my back as soon as it started its motion upwards. I was surprised I made it to my room without so much as falling down and as soon as I entered a sudden whooshing sensation sent me sprawling on my stomach in the middle of the floor.

I attempted getting back up again, but the room was spinning, and I noticed figures flickering in and out of my vision. One came forward, and I recognized her at once; she was a woman I had grown up with, and someone I was absolutely positive wasn't really there.

"Grandma?" I mumbled, as she took a few steps forward, crouching down right in front of me.

She reached out and touched my hair, "Welcome to the elite, my grandson," and with that I was swallowed by blackness.

First, I was holding a stake out in front of me, swinging it at the two Strigoi that were approaching me. I tried lashing out at one with my foot, but it was rooted firmly in place, all that I could move was my upper body. So I went in for a punch, which didn't work because I didn't have the right stance, so I fell backwards, landing awkwardly on my back, still staring up at the Strigoi. Their bodies and faces wavered and changed, until I was staring at Tasha and Christian. They both looked down at me sneering, showing sharply pointed fangs and watching me with cold, calculating, red ringed eyes. I opened my mouth to yell, but all too quickly the scene changed.

I was fighting hard against the hands restraining me, screaming, "No! No, let me go! They have Rose! Let me go!" I could see her body, surrounded by the Strigoi who were swarming at entrance to the cave barring their teeth at us, just before the line that separated sunlight from the shadows. "Rose!" I yelled, continuing to fight against the restraints, but as soon as I got free and started sprinting towards her I wasn't there anymore.

She was hovered over me, her long dark hair hanging loosely in my face and her hands roaming over my bare chest while her hips moved against mine. "Rose!" I moaned, my hands clutching her shoulders as she leaned down over me and took my bottom lip in her mouth as she sucked hard.

"I thought you didn't love me anymore, Comrade," she whispered as she relinquished the pressure on my lips and her hands resting on my shoulders as she grinded our pelvises together.

"I lied," I said, holding her down against my chest as I brought her mouth back down to mine.

My mother handed me the phone, her eyes brimming with tears and her had covering her mouth, "For you," she said, barely managing to speak without crying.

I took the phone and held it up to my ear, "Dimitri speaking," I said, though it came out as more of a question.

"Guardian Belikov," the man on the other end of the line said clearly and crisply, as if what he had just said had not made my mother cry, "Lord Zeklos and his stand in guardian were killed last night."

I punched hard but she blocked it and her leg shot up to kick me in the shoulder, but I ducked just in time. We were matched, perfectly in sync with each other, and neither of us would really win. I smiled as she crouched and tried slamming both feet into my knees, but I dived to the side, rolling so that I was just behind her. My hand shot out to strike her in the back, clutching an imaginary stake, but she turned quickly and knocked my arm away.

"That's what I was supposed to say…" I whispered, staring into her eyes, which radiated pain and sorrow and grief. Then I slipped over the edge, and I could see her as I fell, looking down at me with tears brimming in her eyes and her lips squeezed together in an attempt not to cry. "I _do_ love you," I said, just before I hit the water and my body was surrounded in icy cold blackness.

"I would throw myself in front of _you_."

"And sometimes… sometimes you don't want to." Her breath was hot on my face as she whispered the words.

"I've given up on you."

"When I saw you fall…" I mumbled, my lips right next to her ear.

She scoffed, "You thought, 'Wow, she's a loser.'"

"Well maybe _my_ love faded too," she snapped, her face a mask of fury and hate.

I shook my head, "You don't mean that."

"Angels fall, Rose." I sneered

"This isn't over. I won't give up on you"

"I'm so sorry, I was stupid, could you ever forgive me?"

"I thought you liked it," she breathed, her body shaking.

"I do like it," I was breathing just as heavily as she was. "I love it."

"You're burned in my mind forever. There is nothing, nothing in this world that will ever change that."

They shot through my mind rapidly; all my regrets, all my wishes, all my fears. My head pounded with pain that seemed to be all over my body; deep inside my chest and head and blossoming outward, until I was shaking from the agony.

The outlines of everything blurred again and I watched as Rose was scooped into my arms. But that couldn't be right, because I was sitting right here, and yet, I was also kneeling, a few feet away, Rose in my lap as blood started bubbling up out of her lips.

I watched in terror as the other me pressed his hands to the wound Rose's chest and whispered her name.

I tried running for her but I was glued in place, unable to get up from where I was sitting, just feet away.

"Don't move, Dimitri."

I turned my head to look at my grandmother, who was staring right at me, her timeless face smiling over at me. I glanced back to where Rose and I were and noticed that there were other figures, all taking on the scene with looks of indifference. I wanted to shout at them, and tell them that while they were sitting there the love of my life was no less than five feet away, dying a bloody death in the other me's arms. And then I realized how silly that sounded and looked back towards me grandmother.

"What's going on?" I whispered, just as the other me said, "Roza! Stay with me! Don't you dare close your eyes!"

"You're getting the sight," she said proudly, "I always knew it would be you."

I shook my head, "What sight?" but she was already gone, leaving me alone in a cold alleyway with the girl I wished I could save, and another oblivious me that could do nothing to help her.

"No! No! No! No!" he shouted, shifting his position to get a better grip on her, "Don't go, Rose! You better not leave me! You have to stay!"

I watched the scene before me in complete torment, tears streaming down my face as the life slowly ebbed out of Rose's beautiful body.

"Please don't leave me," I whispered at the same time he did.

She opened her eyes again, but they didn't look at me, they looked at _him_, "Roza, Stay with me," we murmured again.

I woke gasping like I had just been holding my breath for hours. I wheezed and rolled over on my back, tasting blood on my tongue and reaching my hand up to feel where I had cut it open by biting on it so hard. The soreness was still pulsing through me and I slowly got to my feet, feeling my stomach turning with the dinner I was digesting.

I stumbled to the bathroom and dropped to my knees in front of the toilet, just as the contents of my stomach came back up. I hated throwing up, more than I hated anything, so I avoided it as much as possible. But this was like I was expelling everything that was making me feel bad, and I was relieved when I sat back on my heels and whipped my mouth with the back of my hand.

I sat there for a moment, just thinking about the dream I had just experienced and looking down at my knees.

Then it hit me.

My grandmother had come to me in a dream, where I had seen things that hadn't happened yet. And if that meant what I thought it meant then I had inherited her powers. And that meant, I realized as I slumped back against the wall, I was predicting Rose's death.

**Review and tell me what you think! ****(or if I make a mistake so I can fix it!)**

**l**

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	5. The First Warning

**Okay so. I just saw **_**A Nightmare on Elm Street**_** and I must say: BEST MOVIE EVER! It's SO scary but I LOVE it! It was the first horror movie I ever saw, and I was kind of scared to fall asleep afterwards! Haha!**

**Thank you guys so much for the support!**

**Anyway, so **_**A Nightmare on Elm Street**_** has inspired this chapter!**

**I LOVE REVIEWS! *cough*cough***

**The next chapter should be up soon… I have big ideas!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

"**Are you letting me do the disclaimer this time?" Adrian asks hopefully, taking a puff on his cigarette and wiggling his eyebrows at VeronicaT. **

**She looks up to the sky, letting out a frustrated sigh, "No, I'm doing it!"**

**Adrian looks hurt for a moment, "Then what the hell am I doing here?"**

"**I don't know! You tell me," VeronicaT says, waving her hands around at the blue sky, "You're the one that makes up these torturous dreams in the first place!"**

**Adrian snaps his fingers, chuckling as a gag appears in VeronicaT's mouth, "You know you like them. I mean, you get to see me! And who doesn't love that?"**

**Since VeronicaT can't talk due to the fabric in her mouth Adrian says, "She doesn't own anything, other than the plot line and some of the characters, although I'm sure that she is devastated that she doesn't own me! So read on you amazing people! I'm sure you are dying to see some more of me!" Then he turns back to where VeronicaT stands, glaring, "Wait, you did put me in this chapter, didn't you?"**

**She shakes her head and Adrian scowls.**

_**JUST GET ON WITH IT:**_

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I trudged up the familiar front porch steps, the smooth soles of my worn out tennis shoes slipping against the slick bricks. Pulling my soaking hood down I inhaled and exhaled, watching my opaque breath fan out in front of me, until it faded into the moist, cold air. My heart beat with apprehension and I began asking myself questions;

_What if Viktoria was still upset with me?_

_What if the Belikovs were mad at me for leaving without saying goodbye?_

_What if they didn't know Dimitri was back?_

I fought silently with myself, trying to decide whether or not to go in. I shut my eyes, breathing deeply and shivering as the frigid air stung my nose, it was cold for the late summer. But something about the chilly air was soothing; perhaps it was the fact that i had been confined to a humid cell for a month, but I shook myself and tried to push those thoughts away as I raised my fist and knocked on the big mahogany door.

"Hello?" Olena said as she opened the door, "Rose?" she exclaimed when she saw me, her face lighting up with joy, and pulled me into a warm, comforting hug.

"Hey" I said meekly, burying my face against her shoulder and squeezing her tightly against me, letting her know just how much I had missed her.

Seeing Olena react like this really made me wonder whether or not Dimitri's family knew about what had ensued in these past few months. I knew that no one would bother to tell them, unless of course it was Dimitri, and then there was no doubt they would ask about me. And if that happened I wondered what he would tell them. If he had told them he was alive, and if he had told them that we had broken up would she still be greeting me this way?

Olena pulled back from me, her eyes, which reminded me so much of Dimitri's, moving down my body, as if she was examining me for any sign of injury or lack of food. I just attempted a smile and let her hug me again, "Rose! Do you have any idea how much you scared us!" she started, shooing me into the warm living room and shutting the door behind her.

"I know, I'm -"

But I was cut off as she continued ranting, "You could have at least said goodbye to us! Or even left a note!" she forced me down in a chair in the kitchen as she started bustling around, making what seemed to be soup, "We were worried we did something wrong…" She continued to tell me off, her ceaseless scolding only stopping when she seemed to realize for the first time that I was wearing the same clothes I had worn on the plane, and for the two day train ride.

"These should fit just fine," she handed me a pile of clothes, that felt as if they had just come out of the dryer, "Viktoria is about your size."

I quickly changed, feeling so much better wearing warm, dry, soft sweats and a tight black t-shirt than I had in the same muddy clothes I had just put into the washing machine.

"Where is everybody?" I asked quietly, taking large gulps of soup and delighting at the feeling of the warm liquid spreading into my body.

"Viktoria just left for school yesterday," I clenched my jaw, wondering whether she attended St. Aleksandr's or some other academy in this part of the world, "Yeva is visiting some friends a few blocks away and the others went to the city to get away for a few days."

I nodded, deciding it was time to tell her, "Olena," I started. Sensing the importance of what I was about to say she looked up towards me and let her spoon rest against the lip of the bowl, her eyebrows arched high, waiting for me to speak.

Taking a breath I closed my eyes and leaned back, a million words to say and ways to explain, waiting to slip of my tongue and deliver the message.

"Dimitri's alive," I finally whispered, and though it was hardly audible I could see the realization crossed her face as the words I had just uttered sunk in.

She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest and rocking her wooden chair back on two legs, "I heard…" she started, but stopped and shook her head, "I just didn't believe…" Olena closed her eyes and let out a little sob, "I thought he was dead!"

I held her hand over the table, "I know," I whispered, tracing little circles on the top of her hand, "I did too. We all did."

Olena didn't say anything after that, she just dropped her head on the table and sobbed. I couldn't tell if she was crying in relief that her son was alive or grief that she hadn't believed he was back.

I just sat there with her, my hand rubbing her shoulder as she let it out. After a few minutes she raised her head, her eyes puffy and watery, and started clearing the table. I got up and helped her, shooing her away when she started to wash the dishes, instead taking on the job myself.

"Thank you," she said, still looking dejected and sitting back down at the table, her chin resting on her palms and her brown eyes staring unfocusedly at the tablecloth as if she found it interesting. I washed all of the dishes and started drying them before speaking.

"You okay?" I finally asked, rubbing the white plate with a towel and turning around, leaning up against the counter as I made circular drying motions on the dish.

She glanced up at me and then away, looking almost ashamed, "I feel so…" she shook her head and pushed her curly hair behind her ears, "How is he?"

I must admit, I was a little shocked at the subject change but attempted a melancholy smile, "Good, I guess." I switched the dishes, putting down the dry one and picking up one from the sink, "We broke up. He said he didn't love me anymore. I think maybe he's ashamed of me, and how I didn't fight back when he was Strigoi."

The confused look on Olena's face was enough to tell me I needed to elaborate, so I recounted the last few months for her as I finished drying up the dishes. I tried not to give details about what had transpired between Dimitri and I during our time here; preferring to keep those memories to myself. She listened assiduously, gasping and tearing up at all the right moments and just sitting in silence after I had finished my tale.

"He wouldn't be ashamed of you, Rose!" she told me, her hand squeezing mine. I had moved to the table about half way through the story, having finished up with the dishes. "It sounds like you did your best," she shook her head, "Maybe he's fighting his own personal demons about what happened between you two. I'm sure everything will work out fin in the end."

Olena sent me to bed after we talked for a little while longer, and it was a good thing too, because I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. I wasn't a big fan of long plane rides, especially when they were over oceans, and the train was a bit scary to say the least, because I didn't have someone to ride with I was pretty much alone in a little dark room for two days, so I didn't get much sleep.

She changed out the sheets in Viktoria's room for me and tucked a heating pad under the covers for me, since I was still shivering from the chilly outside air.

Once I had burrowed down under the covers and listened to Olena's footsteps retreat down the hallway I rolled around trying to get comfortable. In the end I pulled a pillow down beside me, hugging it to my chest as if it were Dimitri. This was a habit I had acquired over the past year, ever since I had fallen asleep on his shoulder during our trip to the mall. Since then it hadn't felt right sleeping alone, and so I would cuddle up next to a pillow every night, falling asleep and dreaming about my future together with him that I wished for, though I knew would never happen.

The room wasn't really very dark and the light that came through the window, although it would be nighttime soon, was a blue color. I didn't want to admit it to myself but the white walls and the blue lights reminded me uneasily of my prison cell back at court.

I shivered thinking about it. Not that they had mistreated me or anything, it was just an unpleasant experience all around. There were always a few guardians posted outside my cell, and all the way down the hallway, though I had checked to see if there were any other prisoners at the same time as me, it was obvious there weren't.

Some of the guardians would talk to me, telling me news of what was going on outside, or even just chatting me up about my past. It was always a guy, never a female, and, though the companionship was nice, sometimes I longed for a girl to speak to about little girly things that I was deprived of.

There were two guardians in particular, James and Viktor, who were my favorites. They had different shifts, but they both liked to sit right outside my cell, their backs pressed up against the little divider that kept my chamber separate from the ones on either side. I would sit down next to them, my feet tucked up under my butt and my arms hanging out of the gaps in the bars.

James usually brought me food from the prison's cafeteria and sometimes he would even slip me little candies and snack cakes. He told me too many times to count that I shouldn't starve, and I should keep exercising, so that _if_ I got out I wouldn't be out of shape. So I did sit-ups and leg lifts and I even found a bar on the celling and did chin-ups.

Viktor, who was pretty young, just a few years older than Dimitri, would give me little objects to keep me occupied, like rubber bouncy balls and paperback books, and when I wasn't sleeping, slipping into Lissa's head or exercising, I would keep myself engaged with them. Once, much to my delight, he gave me a bottle of bright crimson nail polish that I spent hours using, trying to get my toes and nails to look perfect.

A loud wooden creak startled me awake. For a moment I stared around the room, wondering how I had managed to find myself in a warm, comfortable bedroom and out of the cold, clinical cell I had spent my last month in. As soon as I realized I had been let out of jail another comprehension hit me.

I felt nauseous.

_Strigoi_ nauseous.

As quickly and quietly as I could manage without slowing myself down, I plucked up the stake from my bedside table and threw the covers back. The floor was cold against the soles of my feet as I padded over to the door and cracked it open, peering out into the hallway.

The entire house was dark and from the window open at the end of the hall I could tell that it was the middle of the night.

I slipped out the door, my feet practically silent on the hardwood floor. There was another creak near the open window, where I knew the stairs were, and with every step closer my nausea increased.

I finally made it to the staircase, turning sharply to stand right in the way of whoever was moving up the stairs.

I saw exactly what I was expecting; two younger looking male Strigoi staring up at me from about the middle of the stars, their red eyes glinting in the dim lighting. For a moment they both froze, my presence startling them.

After considering me for a moment they both barred their fangs in a sneer, "Well, well." one growled, taking a step up towards me, the wooden boards squeaking in protest, "What have we here?"

"Smells like Belikov's old play toy," the other one said, not hesitating to follow after his friend, "Nice isn't she?" they both sounded completely American and were large and sturdy, probably guardians before they were changed.

It hit me at that moment that I was only wearing cotton boy short panties and the tight black shirt of Viktoria's that Olena let me borrow. I held my stake out in front of me, my stance ready in case either one decided to attack, "Who the fuck are you?" I said loudly, hopping to alert Olena to their presence without the Strigoi knowing she was there.

"We've come for Dimitri," the one that was closer to me said, his eyes glinting evilly behind his dark bangs as he took a few more steps up the stairs, "But you might be a good find also," he licked his lips and his friend snickered.

I took a few steps back into the hallway, not wanting to fight on the uneven stairs.

"So," said the Strigoi, every time I took a step backwards he took another forward, keeping about four feet in between us, "Where is he?"

I wasn't sure exactly what to tell him, so instead I just settled on, "he's dead."

At first I wasn't sure whether or not he believed me, his mouth turned from a jeering grin into a disbelieving frown, though as quickly as it had appeared it was gone in a flash of anger. He lunged forward, knocking the stake out of my hand easily and grabbing me around the waist, forcing me tightly to his chest. I struggled against his grip, scraping my claws against his forearms and trying hard to get my feet and knees to come in contact with his legs.

After just a moment I felt another pair of hands lift up my legs, so that I was hefted off the ground in between the two Strigoi, staring at the ground.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you what happens to little girls who tell lies?" the first Strigoi, who was seemingly the leader, whispered, one of his hands clamping over my mouth to keep me from screaming, "They get punished."

I kicked hard with my legs and was rewarded with an, "_Umph_!" sound as my foot came in contact with the second Strigoi's stomach, but I was jerked hard against the leaders chest, his hands yanking my arms so hard I thought they would have come dislocated. My face was pressed against his chest; my nose uncomfortably squashed on his hard muscle, "You're being _so_ naughty!" the leader chortled, "Naughtiness earns punishments too, _baby doll_."

"I say we fuck her… hard…" the one holding my legs proposed, seemingly unaffected by the kick, his hand moving to tear my underwear off, "Make her scream," he leaned forward, his cold lips leaving a whisper of a kiss against the small of my back, letting his long, sharp fangs brush over my skin, triggering a shutter of longing from somewhere deep inside of me.

They both chuckled darkly at my reaction, "I bet she liked it when Belikov bit her," he continued, sliding a large hand over my ass cheek.

"You're such a whore," the leader shifted, picking me up, making sure I couldn't struggle against his grasp, "aren't you? You're a filthy little disgusting blood whore. It's so obvious you long for us to bite you, and fuck your brains out. Don't you want that?" he leaned down and whispered against my ear, his chilly breath fanning out on my skin, teasing the hairs so that they stood on end, "We'll make you come little girl. You'll come so hard that you won't be able to stand for days. We'll fill you up, over and over again…" he snickered again, and this time it was dark and seductive. A cold, wet tongue traced up my earlobe, provoking a shiver from me, "Would you like that sweetheart?"

I fought, pulling my arms hard against his grasp, though to no anvil. He just sneered and changed our positions so that my back was pressed firmly against his chest and my legs were once again picked up by the other Strigoi. He held them so that they were on either side of his waist, our pelvises almost coming in contact. Seemingly of accord, they both sank to the floor, keeping me between them.

"Hold her down," the one between my legs whispered, letting go of my legs while the other one brought both of his forward, hooking his feet around my ankles and pinning them down so that booth of our legs were spread out wide.

As soon as the one that was kneeling between my legs made to undo his pants I jolted, fighting hard against the hold that the leader had on me, though I was kept in place by his strength.

I was becoming desperate, it had been pretty painful when Dimitri and I made love, and I had been completely ready for him then, just imagining what this would feel like made me shudder in horror. Sensing my distress they both sneered at me, the one holding onto me shifting my head, giving himself access to my neck.

"I'll just get this little angel ready for you then," then he let out a menacing, hissing laugh and lowered his mouth to my neck.

That's when I lost it. I thrashing and writhed, trying to free my arms and legs from their grip. All it took was one hard pull and one of my legs came free from where it was being held under the leader's leg. I jerked it up towards my chest and kicked in the direction of the one that was preparing to penetrate me, smashing his nose hard with my heel. His head snapped back, and he fell backwards cursing and holding his hand to his face.

His companion, obviously not expecting my sudden escape, was easier to get away from. Without a second thought I lunged over the bleeding Strigoi and found my stake, lying uselessly on the floor.

As soon as I had it in my grasp I spun around to where my two captors had scrambled to their feet, one looking furious for letting me get away, and the other more shocked than anything, his nose already healing.

I made the first move, attacking with practiced, precise movements and stabbing towards them. The rest of the fight was simple, seeing as neither had been Strigoi long and both were rather young when they had been changed, meaning I was just about even with them. I took them both out quickly, not hesitating when it came time to plunge the stake into their hearts, burying it up to the hilt in their cold flesh.

Once they were both dead I backed away, clutching the stake firmly. The nausea was gone, thank God, but I was covered in a mixture of my blood and theirs.

Shuttering I realized I would have to get out of here before I brought more Strigoi and put the Belikovs in danger, and that was not a risk I was willing to take, so with a longing to protect my adopted family, I washed off, changed clothes, grabbed my bag and left a note before silently slipping down the stairs and out the door.

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**Whooo! Glad that's over… I know; it wasn't very good and it wasn't very long, but I really had trouble writing this chapter… and I reeeeeally wanted to move on to chapter 6… so I'm sacrificing quality work so that I can get back to Dimitri!**

**Hey guys… if I make a mistake… or in a particular part, point it out, so I can fix it!**

**REVIEW!**

**l**

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	6. The Lovers

**YAY! CHAPTER 6! I have plans for you! Okay so, last chapter was just a **_**little**_** rushed… it wasn't my best, but this chapter… this chapter will be better! (or I'm just gonna keep spitting out crap… that would suck…) **

**[Has anyone noticed that I tend to say "Okay so…" waaaaay to much?]**

**This chapter dedicated to my **_**amazing**_** friend Madison who likes to read over all of my chapters before I publish them and gives me awesome advice… I love you Maddie!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

"_**I'm just going to get to the point this time" VeronicaT says, staring lazily at her audience, "I don't own **_**Vampire Academy**_**, although I wish I did. Okay, story time!"**_

**The official songs for this fic are:**

_**KILL THE MESSENGER**_** - Jack's Mannequin**

_**UNTOUCHED**_** - The Veronicas**

**and**

_**YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL**_** - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus**

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I wanted to destroy the man that was touching her like that; moving his hand over the soft curve of her bottom in a way that repulsed me. And I was going to. I wouldn't sleep unless I had ripped off each of his fingers until he begged for mercy, and not even then would I kill him; he would have to apologize at least a thousand times to her, and then, and only then, would I murder him and then feed him to sharks, so that there was no trace of his existence.

"I bet she liked it when Belikov bit her," he sneered down at her. A growl emerged from deep in my throat, loud and clear through the quiet night, though none of them seamed to realize I was there.

After laughing sadistically to himself, the other responded with, "Your such a whore," he shifted his grip on her, cradling her in his arms instead, "aren't you? You're a filthy little disgusting blood whore…" At his words I started moving down the familiar hallway, my lip curling back, a habit from when I still had fangs, "It's so obvious you long for us to bite you and fuck your brains out. Don't you want that? We'll make you come little girl. You' come so hard that you won't be able to stand for days. We'll fill you up, over and over again…"

I finally reached them and pulled my hand back to deliver a punch that would probably knock a human out cold.

"Roza!"

I lurched awake and stared wildly around the room, still enraged and practically growling. I was shaking violently and my muscles were bunched and ready to spring into action, but slowly my consciousness came back to me.

The blankets were twisted around my legs and the pillows, which were once tidily propping my head up, were strewn around the bed, as though I had been thrashing in my sleep. I was covered in cold sweat and the air-conditioning was wafting cool air right onto my skin, causing the little hairs on my arms and chest to stand up. I inhaled deeply, struggling to control my breathing and slow my heartbeat when I grasped what I had just been dreaming about.

All of the details crashed back over me and I couldn't help the horrible feeling of dread that shook me to the core.

They were going to rape her… or were raping her.

Or _had_ raped her.

I didn't want to think about the prospect of the last two, because it would mean I was too late, and I couldn't do anything to stop them.

But the fact that Rose was in danger was only part of my concern; the worst feeling ever was that I _knew_ those faces, and I knew them very well.

Quinn and Sebastian had been Strigoi for an even shorter period than I had, seeing as I was the one to awaken both of them. Now just the thought revolted me; the idea that I had lingered over their dying bodies, as I drank from the both of them, then opened my own veins and let my blood trickle over their lips. It captivated me, at that time, to see their lifeless mouths fill with my blood, and then feel their bodies stir and their tongues begin a lovely lapping motion against the sensitive skin of my wrist. The most wonderful part had been to feel their teeth elongate into fangs as they drank and to feel their strength returning to them. It was somewhat similar to draining someone who was alive, only I could feel their life build rather than ebb.

It had been a glorious feeling; owning instead of being owned, having something under my command that _I_ could manipulate.

When they finally came to conciseness and began writhing around on the ground, telling me how thirsty they were, I felt something I assumed was close to fatherly towards the two of them. At first, after being awakened you're in somewhat of a daze so you really don't know where you are or what's happening to you; all you can think about his how parched and tired you are. I knew the feeling, and so explained to them how to feed from their fallen comrades before really taking them hunting. Perhaps I made my first mistake there, for we found, killed, and drained three women, and from then on they had become obsessed with hunting beautiful girls… and Rose was most definitely a gorgeous woman.

I had to go to Russia; and I had to go _immediately._

There was a loud, clear knock on the door followed immediately by, "Dimitri?" and three more knocks. I clenched my jaw, breathing deep, reassuring breaths as I struggled out from the covers and made my way to the door apartment door. I already knew who it was but feigned surprise when I saw her.

I watched as her eyes widened and wondered down to my bare chest when she saw me, but I paid no attention, instead stepping back and allowing her to pass by me. She stood on my doorstep for a few moments, seeming to take in my appearance and collect herself.

"Tasha," I greeted, struggling to keep my voice level as she passed by me and into the living room, "What brings you hear at this hour?"

She rolled her eyes at me, dropping her purse next to the door and taking of her muddied shoes, "It's almost eight," she commented, leaning against my shoulder for support as she tugged off a rain boot, "you're always up at eight."

I glanced at the clock and murmured, "I had a rough night last night."

Tasha, who had finished taking off her boots, still had her small, pale hand on my shoulder. She made a little noise of pity and then asked, "What happened?"

_Well, you know, I just sort of realized that I was having premonitions of Rose's death over and over again, and the predictions might actually come true… no big deal…_

"Last night's salmon didn't agree with my stomach." It wasn't a lie, per say, and I was sort of afraid that answering the other way might possibly get me landed in therapy, or worse; a psyche ward, and then there would be no way I could get to Rose.

She nodded, releasing my arm and taking a few more steps into the room to sit on the couch. She patted the spot next to her, "Sit," she commanded and leaned back on her arms, her dark hair falling away from her shoulders to revile the scar across her face.

I would have rather spent my time packing so that I could get out of court and in the direction of my home country, but with Tasha sitting there, showing no time of leaving any time in the near future, the possibilities seemed pretty slim, so I sat ungracefully beside her.

"I came to invite you - "

"I'm sorry," I cut her off, running a hand through my tousled hair, "I can't go."

She stared at me for a moment; her eyebrows arched high in disbelief, "Why not?" It wasn't a question… more along the lines of an accusation.

I didn't know what to tell her, but after all this was _Tasha_ and she had been a good friend for a while, so I simply said, "I have to find Rose."

She shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh, "Dimitri!" I could hear the lecture coming on, "This has gone on for too long, I can't let you keep obsessing over this girl! She _left_ you, and most of the time when that happens the girl doesn't want you to go after them. You need to move on. Date someone _older_."

I caught her meaning on the last part, as I'm sure she intended, "Tasha - "

But any protests I could have made were silenced as her warm, soft lips smashed against mine

It felt good, _great_, even, and I hadn't kissed anyone in so long… but it wasn't Rose. I'm not saying Tasha wasn't a decent kisser, because she most defiantly was, but the way she moved her hands up to twist into my hair, and the little breathy moans she made against my lips didn't feel or sound like Rose to me. And Rose's moans were the only ones I wanted to hear.

I'd done worse things with Tasha than kiss, especially during the ski trip last Christmas. I had been deprived of sexual activities for an excessive amount of time before that; there were no guardians on campus that I could, or even wanted, to have sex with, and every time I jacked off inappropriate images of Rose seemed to work their way into my mind. And even though I was nursing a ridiculously large crush on her, I still felt perverted whenever I masturbated thinking about her, seeing as she was my student and I was seven years her senior, so I avoided it as much as possible.

When we were having sex I didn't feel like Tasha was the one I was doing all of those things to; it was _always_ Rose, and afterwards I would feel horrible for days, not just for thinking about her while I got off, but for using Tasha like that. That's why I broke it off, I didn't want to see Rose every time I touched her, or kissed her, or made love to her, and now that I had tasted the real thing substitutes weren't going to work.

I drew back and held Tasha at arm's length, staring down at the space of smooth black leather between the two of us on the couch, "Tasha…" I breathed, refusing to look her in the eye, "Don't _ever_ do that again." My words were sharp and reprimanding but this situation required a forcefulness I was willing to give.

"Dimitri, I…" she started, but I shook my head and heaved myself up off of the bed, crossing the room in a few quick strides to stand facing the pale expanse of wall. I listened to her leave, not moving until long after the door shut and I heard her boots clunking their way back down the hallway.

It took me a while to slow my breathing, though I wasn't sure whether it was from anger or desperation. It was most likely a combination of both. I regained control of my senses before walking tiredly around the room to pick everything up. I had never liked unpacking so there were just some random clothes strewn randomly around.

Lastly I pulled on a shirt and some shoes. One last glance around the room confirmed that I had left no trace of my existence there, so I opened the door and stepped out into the warm morning.

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It didn't take long to find Adrian; he was perched on a wooden barstool pushing around a half full glass of whisky and flicking ashes from his burnt down cigarette into a cheap plastic ashtray at the pub. Seeing as it was before noon and a Monday, Adrian was the only one in the bar. I slid onto the stool beside him, not even earning a glance from him.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked, leaning over the counter and offering a menu to me.

I shook my head and said, "Tap water, please." Adrian still didn't look up, instead continuing swirling the ice in his glass around with his pointer finger and smoking.

She pursed her lips and poured me a glass, handing it over the bar and turning to go into the back of the pub, leaving Adrian and I alone.

"When was the last time that you _actually_ drank?" Adrian finally asked, snuffing out the cigarette and dropping the rest of it into the almost full ashtray.

I took a large gulp of water before answering, setting it down and turning towards Adrian, who had rotated so as to better talk to me, though I couldn't make out his face very well in the dark. "Let's see…" I thought for a moment, staring up at the celling and counting in my head, "three years."

He shook his head at me in disbelief, letting out a breath that sounded somewhat like a snicker. He raised his glass, taking a sip before asking, "So, why are you here?"

"She's in Russia," I told him simply, ignoring his jerk of surprise, "I'm going to bring her back."

For a moment he just stared straight ahead, before slowly turning towards me, and it was then that I could see he looked almost sickly, "Are you alright?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

I wasn't sure what to call the look that fell over his face; Hurt? Desperation? Guilt? Maybe all of those.

"Do you know what happened this morning?" When I didn't respond he ran a shaky hand through his hair and downed a gulp of his drink before continuing, "They executed the queen's murderer."

"Oh," I said quietly, unsure where this was headed, "The one who framed Rose?"

Adrian blinked a few more times and sighed, shaking his head miserably, "I condemned an innocent man to death, Dimitri."

"What do you mean? The man they executed? But he admitted to doing it."

Slapping down a few bills on the bar for the both of us, Adrian got up to leave, abandoning our half full drinks and motioning for me to follow him. We stepped outside, Adrian taking up a place leaning against the wall with a new cigarette in his hand and I crossing my arms over my chest and watching him.

After lighting it, clicking the lighter closed and returning it to his pocket, he took a few shaky puffs, as if to fill the air with his scent. "He never did anything, I compelled him to say that he did."

It took me a moment to catch on to what he was saying, but once I did I stepped back in surprise and uttered a stream of Russian obscenities loudly. "Adrian!" I shook my head, trying to decide whether to get away from him as quickly as possible or yell at him, "What did you do that for? He was innocent?"

Adrian stepped forward in his defense, his words sharp and almost accusatory, "Rose didn't do it either, and she's much more important to a lot more people. You have to appreciate that."

I started walking, trying to get away from him as quickly as possible, "It's true, and I do appreciate that, but that was inexcusable, Adrian."

"I saved her life!"

I couldn't help but feel a pang of understanding deep in my gut, but I was still fuming, and thought it would be wise if I got out of that situation as fast as possible.

"Hey! I'm not done yet!" He jogged after me, "We never did anything!"

At first the words didn't mean anything to me, I just continued hiking across the grass, focusing on the sound my running shoes made on the ground and trying to get away from him and towards Rose.

"Belikov," Adrian said a little louder, "Are you even listening to me?"

I gritted my teeth, I needed to get to my car _now_, I had to get to Rose _now_, and I had to start looking _now._ I had to forget about this.

"We never had sex!"

I slowed down, not sure if I had heard the words correctly, "What?" I croaked, turning back towards him, suddenly forgetting about the urgency of the situation.

Taking a second look at him I could tell something was _defiantly _up; his usually meticulously styled hair was looking more like bedhead than ever and his eyes looked red and puffy, as if he had just woken up from a hangover.

He dropped the half smoked cigarette and made no move to stamp it out, just letting it smolder on the ground, "Look, Rose and I never slept together, I just bit her. We didn't have condoms so we didn't do it."

_He_ bit her? He bit her like… like _I_ bit her? _He _made her moan for the beautiful release that _I _could give her. _That I _had _given to her_.

The thought sickened and disgusted me and yet it intrigued me as well; tearing away the walIs that had been building up all of these years to hide my true emotions. I wasn't sure whether to feel fury or pain; to knock Adrian unconscious or sink to my knees sobbing.

My train of thought was stopped suddenly with his next words.

"I don't think she wanted to do it with me; I think maybe, the entire time she was just looking for an excuse not to. I think you're burned into her mind so deeply that she can't even fathom that type of intimacy with someone else. Not even me."

I was shocked into silence. Feeling emotions that I couldn't even attempt to express with actions, let alone words.

She was still _mine_, just like she had been in the cabin, so long ago, just like she was when I had her as my captive, just like when I held her tight against me. She was always mine, even when we fought in the quad during her training. _I_ was the only one who held her like I did in the cabin. The only one who had kissed her like I did when bound by the lust charm. _I_ was the only one to touch her like I had. I was her only. _Mine_. That word held all of the power in the world to me, it was so much better than the feeling of having Quin and Sebastian; because she _chose_ to be mine, and mine alone.

"Just," he started, turning to leave, but looking back at me as he said it, "Just bring her home safely… _please_. And _don't tell her_."

Perhaps it was a mutual agreement between the two of us, maybe Adrian had just finally given up on the hope that Rose would ever love him quite as deeply as she loved me, or maybe it was an unspoken understanding that there was nothing he could do for her, but I could see the change in his eyes as he looked at me. I wasn't sure whether to call that look broken or freed, though definitely still guilty. He was walking away from this missing something he wanted, yet free from the bondage of love, and I would come out of this with the woman of my dreams yet bound to her forever, though I was not complaining.

He walked away, his feet making very little sound on the hard packed earth. I stood watching him for a while, until he was nothing but another figure strolling around the court. From this far away you couldn't tell he was the great nephew of a murdered queen, that he had just relinquished his love to someone he really never liked, sentenced a guiltless man to death, or that in just a few hours he would still be sitting around uselessly while I searched for the woman we both loved in an attempt to save her life. He was just another person in the world for a few moments.

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Good? Bad? MISTAKES? Review!

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	7. The School

**Oh God, I am soooo sorry. I know, I know, I know, it took me FOREVER to update, but I was having EXTREME Writers block and this chapter Isn't even any good! UGH! This chapter is just crap, crap and more crap… I just needed for Rose to do one thing and then I will be back to Dimitri's POV and I can get them back together! Hopefuly in the near future. **_**Last Sacrifice**_** came out last Tuesday and I'm almost done! :D (don't tell me anything) but this story will be COMPLETELY different – for those of you who haven't read I don't want to ruin it.**

**In response to laineylane03's comment (she told me that she would be extremely upset if Rose died in the end). I just want to say this **_**probably **_**does have a happy ending in the end… it may take a while, but most likely everything will work out in the end (I don't want to give it away!). BUT just so that you don't kill me when I get there, I must tell you now: ****there will be the death of an important character in a later chapter!**** I refuse to disclose any more information on who or when this character will die, but it will happen, there will be a warning at the very top of the page, so from now on when your reading look for the little notice at the top of the page that says WARNING: THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES A MAIN CHARACTER DEATH. – not this one though!**

**Thanks Madison for being my faithful editor! I love you! She decided that she liked this story so much that she is going to get the chapters put into an **_**actual book**_**! Like cover art and everything! It's going to be my Christmas present (if I finish it before then) and I'm going to keep it forever! She's already working on the cover art and everything! I LOVE YOU, CRAZY GIRL!**

**And by the way: THANKS FOR 50+ REVIWS!**

_**I don't own Vampire Academy, but I came up with the plotline by myself! **_

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St. Aleksandr's looked more like a church than a school, with tall, claret spires topped with large colorful mushroom like domes that seemed to be the symbol of Russian architecture. I wasn't exactly sure why these type of buildings were so popular here, because every time I saw one I thought it looked more like something straight out of the pages of _Arabian Nights_.

I trudged up the steps and opened the front door, thankful to be in the warmth of the school and out of the chilly rain that was only now beginning to give way to the sun. I breathed a sigh of relief as I entered the building, pushing back the hood of my jacket and stepping across the white marble floor and towards the large mahogany desk, my shoes squeaking with every step I took.

The receptionist looked up at my approach, greeting me in Russian. She was rather pretty; tall and slim, like most Moroi, with a square jaw line and long curving neck.

"Hey," I said, leaning up against the counter awkwardly, hoping to God that I would be able to communicate with this woman, and the other faculty here too, "Do you speak English?"

She nodded, "Of course," she said, though her words were laced with a thick accent, almost too thick to understand and much heavier than Dimitri's.

"I'm Rose Hathaway."

She jumped up, making a little noise of comprehension, "Oh!" Pulling a file off her desk and handing it to me, she began rummaging around in her desk drawers, mumbling to herself in Russian. Finally she emerged with a large key ring and also placed that in my hands, "Ve're so glad ve found someone to fill ze position, ve ver looking everywhere."

_Everywhere? Really? _I guessed it had become much harder to find suitable guardians than I thought.

"Zoze are jour schedules for jour classes and patrols. Jou shouldn't vorry about ze children being unable to understand jou, ve are an international school, jeah?" She opened a door off to the side of the great marble entryway, ushering me through and into a long, red carpeted hallway.

As we moved past the large wooden doors I asked, "What about the guardians… will they be able to understand?"

"Ja," she said, stopping at a door and knocking, "Probably better zan se children."

After a muffled noise, which sounded like an answer in Russian, she opened the door and stepped in, holding it open for me. The room was an office, carpeted in red, with carved wooden bookshelves covering every wall and a delicate looking golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. But even more impressive than the room, was the man sitting behind the ornately designed desk. He was large and stocky, making him almost look like Santa Clause, though the suit and tie seemed to distort that just the slightest bit.

He stood up when I entered, placing two large hands on his stomach and chuckling good-humoredly, "Ah! This must be our newest faculty member!"

I smiled, stepping forward to shake his hand, "Pleased to meet you…" I glanced towards his desk, "Professor Ivanov," He clasped my hand and shook it vigorously.

"Rose Hathaway!" he boomed, holding his hands out and gesturing around the room, "Welcom to St. Aleksandr's! So nice to have you here with us. You were mentored by that Belikov… what's his name? Demyan? Dimiter?"

"Dimitri." I offered, popping the knuckle on of my index finger with my thumb out of irritation, "I was indeed."

He chuckled again, coming around the desk to walk out of the room, beckoning me to follow, "Cheeky little devil, that one," he laughed darkly again, "Beat every single one of my students in his theory tests. Ranked first I believe," he then added as an afterthought, "In the country."

"Did he go here?" I questioned, following after him as he waddled down the hallway. Sometimes, though I knew more about him than most, Dimitri seemed to have told me very little of his life.

The professor shook his head, "No, no. He went to St. Basil's, just like the rest of the Belikovs. We asked him to come here though, we wanted him on our list of graduates."

"Did you hear what happened to him?"

He nodded, pushing open a set of double doors that opened up onto the grounds, where the rain had finally given way to the sun. "Yes, tragic really. He should be just as valued now as he was before the whole Attack on St. Vladimir's… Ah! Here we are!"

We had arrived at a two story building that looked like the housing part of the school. They lead me upstairs to a large, blank room.

"This is great," I told him, throwing my bag down next to the bed, "When do I start patrolling?" I asked as I strolled around the room, opening cabinets and closet doors.

He handed me the schedules he had been holding, "Actually, your first class is in two days,"

"What class?"

He laughed heartily and shook his head at me, "_Your _class of course."

I didn't pick up on his words at first, and instead just mumbled a response, continuing to look through the cabinets and refrigerator, though there was no food anywhere. I pulled out a glass and filled it with water, also offering one to him, but he declined.

Then it hit me. I paused and turned towards him. "Wait… _my _class?"

"Yes…" he looked puzzled. "the class that you're instructing."

The glass, thankfully, didn't shatter when I dropped it, but I did spill water over the floor. "What?"

"The – the class… the one… but, you… " His brows furrowed in confusion. "You offered to teach, did you not?"

"I…" the words stuttered out of my mouth. "I… signed up to _teach_!" I snatched the schedule up and studied the page carefully. Yup, right there it read:

_**Guardian Hathaway (Rosemary)**_

_Class/ Patrol schedule:_

And then had a chart of all the times of my classes and patrols.

The professor caught my attention again, "It's only temporary. We are looking for someone to teach permanently. It should only be a few months until we can fill your position."

I opened my mouth but closed it again, unsure what to say. Finally I squeezed my eyes shut, "That secretary wanted to piss me off…" I swore then that if and when I got back to court I would hunt down that damn woman and make her pay for this.

"I'll take the job."

He seemed in high spirits after that, whistling merrily to himself as he left me alone in my room.

When he was gone I cleaned up the water on the floor mumbling things like, "Idiot!" and, "Take a fucking job that you didn't even sign up for!"

I just knew one thing. Teachers had access to many more files than plain guardians. If I had made the right choice, which I hoped I had, I could possibly find Lissa's sibling more easily than I thought I could.

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I stayed up that night.

Not because I was nervous or anything, I just couldn't sleep.

The feeling of loneliness overwhelmed me until I felt like I was suffocating in my own despair, so instead of attempting sleep, which I knew would never come, I stayed up. The earlier faceoff with the two Strigoi had shaken me and I was almost afraid to sleep, the feeling that I would lurch awake to find a pale, red eyed figure hovering over me was too great.

Just thinking about it produced a cold sweat glistening upon my skin, so I peeled back the covers and started unpacking.

It wasn't difficult; I only had a duffle bag full of… well…nothing. But I did the best I could to keep myself occupied, folding the clothes I did have and putting them in the drawers. I left the money in the bag, shoving it under my bed to keep it out of the way and away from people.

After that it took me a minute to come up with something else to do. I ended up running a bath, since I had not cleaned off in so long that the grime was building up in a thick layer on my body. I slipped into the clean, warm water and tried to close my eyes and gain some semblance of relaxation.

I sat up in a ball, my forehead resting on my knees, and just stayed like that. I was still tired and just wanted to sleep forever and never wake up again.

Some days were like this, especially when I was in my cell and there was nothing to do. My movements started to get jerky and slow and I would just curl up on my pathetic little concrete cot and cry.

I missed him, and no matter how much I tried not to think about him, or cry over him, or jerk awake to remember that he is gone… I always would.

I cried a little just because I could, and because I was tired of being alone. What I wanted more than anything in the world was for Dimitri to walk into the bathroom carrying two mugs of steaming hot chocolate (double package like he always did), smiling, and for him to sink down in the tub with me.

I entertained that idea for a while, closing my eyes and imagining his eyes hazing over with love and lust… for me. _This is the last time_, I told myself sternly, _Put him out of your mind, he _left_ you… he doesn't want you anymore._

The lonely feeling came back, and forced me out of the tub. I stood in front of the mirror for what seemed to be a long time, just staring at my wet, naked body. I had lost weight in jail. Well, I had lost fat, my ribs were visible and my hip bones were a little more prominent. Other than that I looked like my old self pretty much, my old self with a haunted, deserted look in my eyes and hair fell limply down my back.

I could feel the tears leaking out again, and so, without drying off, or putting on clothes, or brushing out my tangled hair, I slid into bed and curled up.

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**Yeah, I know, not my best. My editor says it sounded kind of rushed, but I was pissed at Rose…**

**Just wondering… what with all of the sudden people adding my story to their favorites and stuff! It was like no alerts FOREVER and then all the sudden I got like five in a row… what's up with that?**

**My editor says it has something to do with supply and demand! Crazy Smart-ass!**

**Okay… REVIEW! I cannot stress that enough! If I don't get reviews, I don't feel compelled to write anything! (see what I did there?)**

**Also… mistakes? (that includes names, locations, details) or suggestions? (be nice about it please) ideas? I might consider your idea if it goes along with the plot! PLEASE tell me! **

**And I'm working on a one shot at the moment… (another thing that has been consuming my time) and if you have any ideas for one shots (or maybe even a full story) that you would like me to write feel free to send me a request about it.**

**REVIEW**

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	8. The Future

**YES! I got it back, that burning fire that just makes me want to WRITE WRITE WRITE! Be happy for me! I must tell you now, Madison is the girl behind all of this, she pushes me to write. This chapter would have been capitol s-h-i-t if she hadn't been there to advise me against this, tell me too add more detail on this… on and on and on. But Maddie? Just so you know – I love you for being persistent.**

**In response to **_**deliciouse**_**'s review – Yeah, my editor was literally bugging the crap out of me to write, so what I did write was… well… crap. But the 'tragic' incident they were talking about was that Dimitri, after he turned back into a dhampir, was shunned instead of being welcomed back into the guardian society. They were talking about how it was a 'waste' because Dimitri is such a good guardian and they treated him like he was replaceable (which he totally wasn't). Yeah I know, it doesn't make a lot of sense… sorry. And, no, Dimitri shall never be Strigoi again! (well, not in this fic) trust me, I've already got the rest of this story planned out and nothing happens to Dimitri – no turning stragoi, no death. :D (There will be **_**a**_** death near the end though – of a different, important main character)**

**And Amber xoxo – the disclaimer is specially for you!**

**DISCLAIMER:**

"**Oh," says Abe, adjusting his maroon scarf and grinning out to the audience, "So you finally recruited me for the disclaimer, huh?"**

**VeronicaT rolls her eyes, winding the microphone cord around her fingers, "Yeah, yeah, just do it, I don't have all day,"**

**Abe shakes his head, "Yeah, sure, all you do just sit at that computer, literally."**

"**Yeah, well I kind of like **_**reading**_** other fanfics too you know… and no, I've been getting out… a lot actually, and next week I won't be able to update because we're going on a ski trip, so this is your chance old man, do it… or else I won't let you show up at all in my story!"**

"**Okay, okay," he gestures with his hands for me to settle down, "She doesn't own anything, just the plot, and some other characters… random, undeveloped characters"**

**VeronicaT scowls and growls, "You know, I never liked you… ever. You're my least favorite character in VA actually."**

"…**Oh, that's nice"**

**.**

I pressed myself up against the cool glass, watching as they strapped her down to the white bed, it cradled her in its soft embrace. She kept her eyes locked on the ceiling and I watched her chest rise and fall as she took deep, calming breaths. Her dark hair fanned out underneath her head, contrasting starkly against her ashen features and the dull, grayness of the room. She seemed so much thinner, so tired, so unhappy. But she didn't look the least bit frightened.

"Roza," I whispered, placing my palms against the Plexiglas and splaying my fingers, wishing I could be there with her, stroking her warm hands and kissing her forehead as she lay waiting.

One of the guardians in the room turned towards the clinically white table, "Are you ready?" he asked, picking up a syringe and holding it up to the light, squeezing it a little to make sure there were no bubbles of air in the shot.

"Yes."

Hearing her voice pushed me over the edge and I slammed the rest of my body against the glass, "Rose!" I yelled, banging my fists on the invisible wall, though I knew she couldn't hear me.

Both of the guardians glanced in my direction, and Rose's head snapped around, so that she was looking straight at me. My breath caught. I drank it all in, my eyes roaming over her every feature; her large brown eyes that were staring into mine, her lips, slightly parted and so pink, and her hair, that was beautifully framing her face with dark locks.

The one with the needle crossed the room and rubbed down the spot on her inner arm, sterilizing it. "No! Don't do it!" I yelled, franticly hitting the glass again, "Don't do it!"

Rose just stared at me, even as he positioned the needle. "I love you!" I admitted, leaning my forehead against the glass and shaking my head, "I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry Rose. I love you, so, so much."

"It's okay, Dimitri," she told me, her voice carrying over to me through the microphone, "I love you too, forever."

Then the guardian buried the syringe deep in her arm and emptied the contents into her. She didn't flinch, or cry out, or even blink, instead she just kept her eyes locked on mine.

"Oh, God." I whispered, slamming against the glass again, feeling the tears slip down my cheeks, "Oh, God, Roza."

She took a shallow breath, her eyes beginning to glaze over, "Forever," she repeated again before her body went slack and the needle was withdrawn.

"Excuse me? Sir?"

I jolted awake, panting and sweating. "What's going on?" I asked, switching to Russian in my surprise.

"Sir, the plane is going to land in a few moments." The flight attendant said in English, "Could you please put up your tray?"

I glanced down to my half empty glass of orange juice. "Sorry." I answered, knocking the rest of my drink back and handing it to her to throw away before putting my tray up.

"That's quite alright," she murmured, smiling at me, "quite alright."

Once she was gone I slumped back down into the pleather cushions of my seat. My shirt was as good as plastered to my skin with all of the sweat and my breathing was erratic. I needed a shower, very, very badly, and a cold one at that.

We finally touched down in Helsinki, Finland and I caught another flight to Ulan-Ude and then took a train and a then a taxi home.

I had missed Russia so much. Just being away from home for a few months had made me sick with longing, almost as much as being away from Rose had. The air was cold and clear and made my nose sting and goose bumps rise up on my neck, I absolutely loved it.

It was night by the time we had pulled up in front of my house and I searched around for a moment before paying my cab driver and stepping out, pulling out my stake as I made my way up the brick front porch steps.

Perhaps there was a chance that Rose was still here, or maybe Quinn and Sebastian had already found her… and raped her, or worse… killed her. Rose would be stronger than that, wouldn't she? I didn't think she could ever be taken down, she was so powerful. Far too strong for Strigoi to even touch her. At least I hoped.

I shook it off and took a deep breath before knocking on the door. To my surprise it was my grandmother who answered.

"Grandma!" I smiled automatically switching into Russian again, my arms extending to hug her.

She didn't hug me back, and she didn't step away. I was _not _expecting what she did next.

She slapped me.

I uttered a cry of shock and took a step back, clutching my smarting cheek and staring at Yeva questioningly. She continued to look accusingly at me for another few moments, her eyes traveling up and down my body as if assessing me before she smiled and pulled me into her arms.

"What..?" I breathed, still rubbing my cheek.

She shook her head at me, mumbling something under her breath. Something like, "Idiot… Rose didn't deserve that… dumb… don't think before acting." I caught the general meaning.

"Grandma, who is it?" Sonya asked from further inside the house, sounding exactly the same as I remembered.

Yeva turned and called through the house, "Its Dimka! He's home!"

Olena was the first to greet me. She appeared behind Yeva almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth and she stared at me for a few moments as the rest of the family gathered behind her, their faces mixtures of shock and confusion.

"Dimitri?" my mother asked, stepping passed Yeva and reaching out to touch my shoulder, "Is it really you?"

"Yes, mama," I told her, pulling her into a hug, "It's me. I missed you so much." She squeezed me tightly to her for a moment then leaned back to look at me. Her eyes darted around my face. I knew that she would never say it to me, but she was obviously searching me of anything Strigoi. But my eyes were brown, my mouth was devoid of fangs, and I was just as tan as I had always been. She reached up and smoothed down my hair and then let her hands wonder down over my face, first over my brow, then my cheeks and finally over my lips and down to my chin. She didn't let go for a long time. A tear escaped from the corner of her eye and I brushed it away with my thumb.

After taking in a few deep breaths she smiled, a big, full on smile that made her eyes crinkle up and showed all of her teeth.

She squeezed me again, kissing my cheek, "Oh, Dimka! I'm so glad your home!"

"Me too, Ma," I whispered, hugging her tightly to me, "Me too."

She stepped back, covering her mouth with one hand, as if it was all that was keeping her from sobbing, while the other squeezed mine so tightly I was surprised that the fingers didn't break.

She looked towards my sisters, who both seemed so shocked, their mouths open and their eyes wide. "Well stop staring and say hi to your brother!"

Sonya and Karolina came forward then. Karolina was the first to make it into my arms. "Why didn't you call us!" she practically yelled, her voice muffled against the leather of my duster, "I absolutely hate you! You scared me, I thought you were Strigoi!"

I chuckled, though the Strigoi comment hit a little close to home, "Sorry," I murmured, smiling against her hair, "I just didn't think about it."

Sonya wasn't as enthusiastic, instead she inched closer. She was holding a little bundle in her arms and her stomach was budging, obviously full of an unborn child. She smiled tentatively, and held out an arm to hug me with, keeping the baby wrapped tightly against her body. I wrapped her in my arms, careful not to crush the baby or her stomach.

"I missed you." She whispered.

I couldn't help but smile, "You too, Sonya."

Karolina laughed good humoredly and tucked herself up against my side, seeming so tiny against me, "Come on," she shepherded me inside, "Paul is going to be so excited to see you!"

I dropped my bags at the door to the living room as we passed by. Paul looked up as we entered. At first he just glanced back to the television, but then, he jumped a little and his head jerked back around towards me.

He didn't gasp or cry out in shock like I expected, instead his jaw dropped and his eyes lit up after watching me for a moment. "Uncle Dimka?" he finally said, standing and taking steps towards us. He glanced towards his mother a few times, but in the end he hugged me.

After that he seemed at a loss for words, and so, we all sat down, Karolina on my left, Sonya my right, my mother, still teary eyed, and grandmother in the armchairs and Paul at my feet.

"And who is this?" I asked, peaking at the baby that was wrapped up in pink blankets in Sonya's arms.

Karolina answered, "My beautiful baby girl – let Dimitri hold her, Sonya." She passed the baby to me and I cradled her in my arms, against my chest, "She was born last November."

"Hello, baby," I cooed, rocking her in my arms, "aren't you just the prettiest little thing." She was the spitting image of Karolina, big brown eyes and little tuffs of dark curly hair on her head. She gurgled at me and gripped my finger in her tiny little hand.

My smile faltered.

…_her large brown eyes that were staring into mine._

"Her names Zoya," Sonya told me, smiling warmly at the baby and stroking her own pregnant belly.

"Zoya," I repeated, pushing the dream out of my mind and smiling down at her once again.

They continued asking me questions and telling me what had been going on with them since we had last talked. Victoria had left for school a few days prior and Sonya was to have her baby any day now and it was to be a boy.

Zoya fell asleep in my arms and I just couldn't keep my eyes off of her, she was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen, other than Rose of course. But there was something about babies, perhaps it was the fact that I would never be the father of one, that made them seem so precious to me.

"Oh, goodness!" my mother exclaimed, jumping up, finally done crying, "Your birthday, Dimitri! Its next week!"

"Next week?" I questioned, standing with Zoya still sleeping in my arms, "But, its only…"

"August fifteenth," Karolina pointed out, checking the date on her phone. "Your birthday's in five days."

"Wow," I stated, handing Zoya to her mother, "It still feels like…" I stumbled over my words, "I… I just… didn't keep track of the time when I was… you know."

"Well, we have to have a party!" my mother grinned and my sisters all nodded their heads, "It's not every day you turn twenty five, Dimitri."

I glanced at my grandmother, who hadn't said anything the entire time. Did she have any idea about my dreaming? Did she actually come to me in the dream? Would she agree with why I was here?

"I can't."

The confusion my words brought on was sudden, and so I shook my head again.

"I mean," I corrected, "I didn't come just to see you guys…" I took a deep breath, "I know Rose is here, or was here," I corrected, "… or maybe she's coming, but I know that I have to be here."

My mother shook her head, seemingly disappointed, "How did you know?"

I glanced over to Yeva again, wondering whether she knew anything about what had been going on. "Was she here?" I asked.

Olena sighed and walked out of the room shaking her head. I was ready to take that as a 'no,' that she hadn't shown up yet, but she entered soon after and handed me a little notecard with familiar scrawled handwriting across it.

_Olena, I'm sorry I couldn't stay any longer. By now you have probably found the two dead Strigoi upstairs. Don't worry, they didn't hurt me. Please, don't tell anyone I was here, especially not Dimitri. You do not want him back in Russia. I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer, but I needed to get to St. __Aleksandr__'s, I'm guarding there, so if you need me, feel free to contact the school._

_Thank you so much – Rose_

"When did she leave?" I questioned, rereading the note for the third time.

Olena sighed, "She told me not to tell you she was here…"

I touched her arm, stopping what she was about to say, "This is important, Rose could be in danger."

That seemed to make everyone stop and think for a moment, "But, Dimitri," Sonya lifted her eyebrows, "how do you know?"

"He's having the dreams."

All eyes turned towards my grandmother, "Isn't that right, Dimitri," She continued, "Rose is going to die."

It wasn't a question, nor was it a statement. I had never heard anyone say anything quite so harshly. It was almost accusingly. Like the entire thing was my fault. Maybe, in a way, it was.

My family stayed quiet as Yeva stood up. She motioned for me to follow her, and so I trailed behind her as she made her way out the front door, shooting confused, apologetic looks at my family as we made it out of the door.

"Grandma," I started, as soon as we were down the front porch steps and had started walking down the street, "What's going on? Can you explain? I have so many questions."

She didn't answer, instead continuing to walk, so I started talking again.

"Why is it always Rose? Why does she always die? Is it really going to happen?" My own voice sounded foreign to me, I sounded so unlike myself in this panicked stupor. But this was it, I was finally going to get answers.

"It's always Rose because you feel more for her than any other person you've ever met." She answered simply, "If you had never met Rose then most of the dreams would probably be about your close family."

"But – "

She cut me off, "And she doesn't always die, does she?"

I opened my mouth to correct her but then snapped it shut again, of course not. Hell, when I wasn't waking up on the verge of tears I was roused by the feel of my half satisfied cock straining to escape the confines of my sweats.

"Not all of the dreams are real. It's just _one_ possible outcome of whatever situation she could be in," she explained, "The dreams, especially when you first start getting them, just show the worst outcome, or the one that scares you most. All of the times you dream of Rose dying, you're really just seeing one possibility. In real life, she could get shot in the shoulder instead of the chest. You see what I mean?"

I nodded, still confused, but starting to understand.

"We're not supposed to change the future, Dimka, remember that."

I continued to replay that in my mind as we finished our walk; neither of us breaking the awkward silence. Was she trying to tell me that whatever was going to happen was going to happen and there was nothing I could do to change it? Or was she reminding me that altering what was supposed to happen could mess up… everything?

If there was any possibility that Rose was going to die there was no way I was just going to stand by casually. No, I was going to fight to the death to keep her safe. I loved her, there was no way to deny that. I loved her so much that sometimes it actually hurt. It was hard without her, harder than I thought it would be. If I thought I loved her before all of this happened, before being Strigoi, or seeing her die almost every night, it was nothing to what I felt for her now. She needed me, but not nearly as much as I needed her. Living without her seemed like living without air. I physically couldn't do it.

After just strolling around for a while we made it back to the house. I still had Rose's note clutched in my hand and ended up sitting back on the couch where I already had been.

"Did you clean up the bodies?" I asked, glancing over the note again, referring to the Strigoi.

She paled and said, "About that…" I glanced up. "There was only one."

.

I rubbed at my eyes and took a few deep breaths again. Sleep seemed impossible, and yet it was inevitable, for I was so, so tired. My eyelids ached with the strain of staying open and my head felt as though I had been listening to loud music for hours. But every time I closed my eyes images of Rose, beaten and bloody, clouded my mind, reminding me that every moment I sat here, useless, somewhere out their either Sebastian or Quinn, I was unsure which one, was waiting for an opportunity to strike.

I had operated with them, taught them even, I knew how they worked. When something thwarted them, whether it be a human they wanted to kill or a house of cards that they couldn't keep up, they would fight with everything they had to finish what they started. They had started on Rose. They were going to finish her. Even if one of them was dead, the other was going to continue working.

It surprised me that Rose had failed in killing one of them.

Again.

That's really what disappointed me, _I_ was one thing. We were so familiar with each other that fighting made it hard, and let us not forget the relationship we had, perhaps that had some effect on her less than satisfactory staking of me on the bridge a few months ago. But a random Strigoi, not even that well trained in combat… I was stumped. She should have been able to get that stake into his heart. Had I taught her wrong? Was she just distracted at the time? Would I need to lecture her of the importance of double checking bodies… again?

I sighed and rolled over, pulling the blankets tighter around myself, trying to get comfortable on the big, empty bed and pushing those thoughts out of my mind.

_We're not supposed to change the future, Dimka, remember that._

The words kept replaying through my mind, _not supposed to change the future…_

I shook my head and covered my face with a pillow, blocking out the faint light. Disturbed thoughts continued to plague my mind, but ultimately I drifted off into an apprehensive sleep.

The dreams swirled around me, first she was crying out and I couldn't find her in the maze of rooms, then she was curled up next to me, safely asleep, and then she jerked and twitched as her eyes rolled back in her head and her mouth foamed with froth. Finally I found myself in a peaceful place. Rose was nowhere to be seen, dying or completely fine, and I was in the school's cafeteria, completely alone. For a moment.

"Belikov."

The familiar voice made me jump but I slumped back against my chair after finding it was only Adrian, sitting in the next chair at the table. He looked better than the last time I had seen him, like he hadn't been drowning his sorrows in alcohol… as much.

"We need to talk," he told me, propping his ankle on his knee and leaning on the table with his elbow. "This is a spirit dream by the way… I'm really – "

I cut him off, "Trust me, I know… I know, just cut to the chase." I then added under my breath, "This better be goddamned important if I'm missing sleep for this."

Adrian shook his head, my words some inside joke obviously, "They are absolutely furious at you for leaving, they want you fired. And, on top of that, they have people _looking out for you_." He made air quotes around the words, almost jokingly, "Leaving was a bad move, Dimitri. You're practically on the wanted list: a half-Strigoi deserting Guardian, almost front page news."

"Trust me," I told Adrian, "Rose, to me, is much more important than my job, and I've found her. It's only going to take one more day to get there, and then I'll try my best to convince her to go back to court with me."

"I sure hope your right, Belikov. Lissa wants Rose back, soon."

And with Adrian getting in the last words, naturally, the dream faded, and I was cast back into troublesome visions.

_We're not supposed to change the future, Dimka, remember that._

.

**FIN! (well, this chapter is)**

**Review! Please and thanks!**

**l**

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	9. The Siblings

**I'm sure you are all very excited for this chapter because Dimitri is close to finding Rose… so, I'm not going to keep you waiting! I'm really sorry about taking so long to update, I was just really busy and stuff…**

**Thank you everyone for reviewing and adding my story to their alerts and favorites! It makes me feel like I'm actually kinda good at writing. I love you guys, I've never been motivated to finish writing anything before, and the more you tell me you love it and how your world would explode if I stopped writing makes me write more! YAY! **

**In response to anonymous's pregnant question… no, I think the pregnant stories get old... Rose shall NOT be pregnant in this! There is plenty of drama without her having a baby in my **_**professional**_** opinion.**

**.**

I had been putting up a wall between Lissa and myself, not wanting to feel her disappointment or resentment at the fact that I left, so when I woke up and my body and mind were still exhausted from the ordeals I had been through recently, I couldn't help slipping into Lissa's head. Her feelings weren't overwhelming or anything, but in my state of misery my subconscious took refuge in Lissa's mind.

It was evening there, and she was walking through the gardens, Christian beside her. The funeral for the queen had been earlier today, and they were both still wearing their black mourning garbs, through Christian had unbuttoned his jacket and lost his tie somewhere along the way.

Lissa was tired from standing all day in the funeral and she leaned her head heavily against him as they walked. Christian stopped at a little wooden bench hidden deep in a garden path overlooking a little pond and surrounded by flowers.

"I miss her," she admitted quietly. She was talking about me. I felt a pang of guilt from somewhere deep inside me, but ignored it, instead focusing on getting out of her head, though I was to tried to attempt escape.

Christian kissed her hair gently, "I know," he murmured, "and that's okay, you should miss her."

She leaned into him, hugging him around the waist, "Why did she leave though?" she asked, tears spilling from her eyes, "She could have told me what she was doing. I could have helped her. Does she not trust me?"

"Lissa," he soothed, working his hands up and down her arms, "It's okay. Rose will be back, I promise."

They stayed quiet then; the silence between them was perfectly comfortable and easy. I attempted to escape back into my own body, for I had a class to teach in the near future, but Christian stood, and held Lissa still with a hand on her shoulder, keeping her on the bench as he stood in front of her.

"Liss," he said, his voice sweet, his eyes a little nervous, his hands holding hers. He cleared his throat and dropped to one knee, "Lissa."

She froze, her mouth fell open and I knew that, if I was back in my own body, I would be having the same reaction.

"Lissa," he repeated again, the corners of his mouth tugging up, "I love you more than you could ever know, and I have since I first met you. I always want to be with you, for the rest of my life. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Lissa was speechless, as I'm sure I would be too if I was in her situation. Christian had pulled out a little black velvet box with a beautiful diamond ring nestled inside of it. He didn't speak, but I could see his face fall and he swallowed nervously when she didn't immediately answer.

She nodded, her mouth open in surprise, "Yes." She said, nodding violently, "Oh, God! Yes!" she flung herself forward into his arms and laughed happily.

Christian laughed with her, slipping the ring on her finger and then he held her head in between his hands, kissing her hard on the lips.

I pulled myself out of her mind and back into my own body. I was lying face up on the bed, my alarm clock blaring at me from the bedside me, telling me to get up.

I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom where I stared at myself. I still looked haggard, like I was dead, which wasn't too far off.. I scrubbed the traces of sleep and depression off until my face was pink and pulled on some training clothes.

I didn't have to actually teach _schoolwork_, I was just the stand in combat teacher for the freshmen. I only had to teach three in the afternoons, and my entire morning was free, so I could do anything I wanted. Today I elected to search through the records to see if I could possibly find Lissa's sibling. I knew the woman's last name was Boroi, as I had found out back at court, and that she had moved here around the time of the crash. It had been a lucky guess, but after searching the archives at court, narrowing it down between the clubs he gambled at, the banks he worked with, and the dancers who had children, I had come up with these two women. I just hoped that this was the correct one, I wasn't in the mood to fly to Japan any time soon.

I passed laughing students who were greeting their friends, who they hadn't seen over the summer, speaking quickly in enthusiastic Russian to each other. It was just like St. Vladimir's after the break and I couldn't help but smile at the students/

I made my way to the library, where there were a dozen computers, open and waiting for me to use. I booted one up and sat down, logging on to the archives as a teacher.

My job was simple, I had to type in _Boroi_ in the search box and press enter. I did just that. Only two results came up, thank God, a fifteen year old dhampir boy named Josh, and a seventeen year old moroi girl named Ashley.

The thing that shocked me most was that they were siblings. That I was defiantly _not_ expecting. A moroi woman to have a dhampir child was almost unheard of. Scandalous, outrageous even.

Josh was a freshman this year, meaning he would be in my class and I could meet him later today. The problem was that I didn't know how close Josh was to Ashley, seeing as they had different fathers. Ashley could be a snotty, spoiled brat who didn't want anything to do with her brother, or she could be kind and loving and spend all of her time with Josh. There were a million variables on whether or not they were friends, or even close at all, it could be as simple as different social groups to distain for the other's race.

I riffled through my class lists quickly, trying to find out in which of my combat classes Josh was in. It was my last, at two thirty until three thirty. I sighed and checked the time; it was only ten.

.

The class filtered into the gym around me, laughing and talking like they probably had been doing all day, and sat down on the bleachers. I stood in the middle of the gym, waiting for them to situate themselves and quiet down, before speaking.

"Good afternoon, class." I spoke loudly and kindly, though still trying to sound professional. They all responded in English, though rather unenthusiastically, and then were silent, all of their eyes trained on me, "I'm Guardian Hathaway, and I shall be your stand in instructor until the school can find a permanent replacement."

Their eyes all snapped towards me as I said my name. Perhaps they had heard the name. Well, I bet they _had _heard my name. I was famous, or rather _infamous_. Running away with Lissa - _infamous_, Killing my first two Strigoi - _famous_, dropping out of school to hunt Strigoi Dimitri - _infamous_, Coming back and graduating top of the class - _famous_, Being accused of killing the Queen - _infamous_. It seemed to change on a daily basis with me and I wasn't even sure what I was at the moment.

"Okay then," I said, rather awkwardly, "I'm using today as an assessment, so if you could all come down here, spread out, and pair up with a sparring partner, we'll get started."

They did as I said, their heavy feet stomping across the floor. Most of them paired up right away, but others stared at me for a moment, eyes wide and in awe.

I nodded them towards the other students, "Come on, pair up." I smirked, "Or would you rather run laps?"

The rest of the novices found pairs, spreading out around the gym and hitting and kicking each other.

I walked amongst the groups, evaluating their abilities, looking but not touching, watching and not teaching. I attempted to remember who did well and who didn't.

They weren't all that good, or at least not as good as I had hoped they would be. They defiantly had the power and accuracy down, they could hit the target and they could hit it hard, enough to easily take out a human, but they lacked the grace and precise movements that I was used to seeing in guardians, the power to kill Strigoi.

I had to remind myself that I had been in this position not long ago and that perhaps they had been slacking off over the break, but I still felt a little disappointed.

"Alright!" I called out and the immediately stopped, their attention snapping to me. "Ten laps." I told them, pointing towards the back door, towards the track. Some of them groaned comically, rolling their eyes at me, but most just launched themselves outside. I contained a grin - these kids wanted to please.

I stood beside the track as they ran, watching them. Who was the fastest? Kept pace? Had the best stamina?

None of them were very fast either. I could have done it in _half_ the time. So could Dimitri. My heart squeezed painfully, and I tucked him in the back of my mind to ponder about later when I had the time. After they had finished their run and cooled off by walking around the track, I brought them back inside.

"Okay," I said as they sat on the bleachers, "Sparing demonstration; who will partner with me?"

About twenty hands shot up and I picked one near the back, "What's your name?" I asked as he came to stand in front of me.

"Adrik." He answered boldly, looking tough and intimidating with a good half a foot and seventy pounds on me.

I nodded and motioned for him to stand facing me, "I see that you all know the basics, but now that you're in high school it isn't about knowing the moves or doing it right, though that is still important to know, this is about knowing when to use them and finding out what style is most comfortable for you." I turned towards Adrik and took a fighting stance. "Anything is legal as long as it's not above the shoulders."

He nodded and I ordered, "Block my hits and strike if you can." We started fighting then, he blocked three of my hits and then I kicked at him, hitting him hard on the hip, making him stumble sideways a few steps.

"Good," I praised when he seemed crestfallen, "You did well…" then I called out, "First lesson; you can block an attack and get a good hit in with just one move."

Then I told be boy reenact the same move on me and explained how before your attacker's foot came in contact with your hip you could put out your hand to stop it, use your other hand to grasp higher up on the leg, and use the attacker as a sort of balance and kick out with the opposite foot.

Then I had the rest of the students try it out on each other and try variations on it. The rest of the class went on like this, and I did the same in the next two classes.

In my last class I spotted Josh Boroi and kept my eyes on him most of the period. He had no balance and spent most of his time being slammed to the mat and getting back up but when he started running it was obviously his strong point. He kept an even pace and was faster than everyone else by a long shot.

When I demonstrated moves at the end of the class and his hand went up I made sure to call on him. He hit hard, I'll give him credit for that, but as soon as he even attempted a punch I easily blocked, causing him to stagger back a few steps to regain his footing.

"Okay," I called, motioning for him to step back towards me, "your footing's off."

He didn't seem pleased at me, instead electing to glare and then look down at the floor.

I demonstrated for him, "Stand like this, your feet pointing apart and one behind the other. It's easy." He followed my instructions, "Now lean forward a little and hit me again." I blocked with my hand. It hurt. "Good," I praised, shaking my arm to get the sting out.

He grinned and we started fighting again.

My students started talking amongst themselves, first it was only a whisper between a few kids, then it turned into the rest of the class murmuring to each other in Russian. When I realized that I had lost their attention I turned back towards them, abandoning my sparing with Josh, "Why are you not paying attention?" I called out and they all fell silent.

And then I heard it. The deep, smooth voice laced with an accent that wrapped around me like silk, cocooning me in my own personal heaven, causing me to suppress a shiver. The same voice that had murmured my name against the skin of my throat, the same voice that had praised me and scolded me and, the same one that broke my heart.

"Guardian Hathaway?"

_Dimitri._

.

**DUN DUN DUN! Dimitri is back!**

**How is Rose going to react?**

**I apologize for my horrible writing, but I looked over this chapter like 20 times and could find a lot I wanted to change, but I didn't know how! Does that ever happen to you?**

**Anyway REVIW!**

**l**

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	10. The Reunion

**DIMITRI IS BACK! Mua hahah! I know you love me for it! I know, I know, it took me a while… BUT ITS HERE! You can love me now and shower me with all of your wonderful, worshipful (HA! That's a real word…) reviews, which are awesome by the way! I think I just might break 100 with Chapter 11… which is after this one… so… yeah… READ ON friends, read on…**

**Deliciouse – Wow, you weren't far off on the idea… what happens is a little different though. And some… sour, yellow, citrusy fruit might be in your near future… :]**

**DISCLAMER:**

_**Eddie throws down the book, glaring at it from where he stands, "I don't get it!" he declares, "It's all a whole bunch of girly shit!"**_

_**Gasping, VeronicaT picks up **_**Frostbite**_** from the floor and cradles it like a baby, "That bad man didn't hurt you… did he? Awww…" she babies, throwing glares over her shoulder every few moments.**_

"_**I see why she likes it so much," Adrain pipes up, blowing out a puff of smoke in Eddie's face, "Its because **_**I'm **_**in it."**_

"_**NO!" VeronicaT declares, "it's because Dimitri's in it!"**_

_**Speaking of the Russian God, he chooses to pop his head around the corner just as she says it, "I'm in what?"**_

_**Veronica T squeeks and hides behind her book, blushing profusely while Eddie rolls his eyes, "You write about having sex with him and you have wet dreams about him, but just being in his present's scares you?"**_

_**VT drops to her knees and bows, "I am at your service, master."**_

"_**Oh this is sick!" Adrian proclaims, facing the audience, "She doesn't own Vampire Academy… OR DIMITRI… so just read! God, anything for me not to see this twisted kind of love!"**_

.

I pushed the wooden swinging doors open and stepped through them, into the big, almost empty gym. Against the far wall there were about twenty students sitting, enthusiastically watching the pair that was sparring. I didn't recognize the boy who was fighting, but I could see that he was having a lot of trouble keeping up with… _her._

Roza. _My _Roza. She was beautiful, and graceful, so powerful, and it felt so unreal. It was like I was dreaming, and I half expected something horrible to happen to her at any moment, and for me to snap awake, wheezing and crying for her.

When I started walking towards them the students attention gradually moved to me, and when they didn't – or perhaps did – recognize me they started whispering amongst themselves.

"Why are you not paying attention!" She scolded the students, and their gazes snapped back towards her and away from me.

I wanted to call out to her lovingly and wrap her in my embrace and kiss her until our lips were sore, but I couldn't, not in front of all of these people, much less students.

"Guardian Hathaway?" I asked, though I already knew it was her. She froze and I could see the exposed muscles in her back tense. I was unsure what to expect, she could turn, see me and run into my arms, telling me how much she had missed me, or she could completely blow up on me and kick my ass… or at least attempt to.

It took her a few seconds to look at me, but when she did pivot elegantly her face showed nothing but shock. No love, no hate, just shock. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyebrows arched as though in confusion.

She was gorgeous. I searched her face, her lips - red and full and pouty, and those big, exotic brown eyes... I could tell she was doing the same to me, her gaze wandering around, taking in the subtle differences, like the bags under my eyes and the stubble on my chin.

My mind, neither subconscious nor conscious, hadn't been able to hold a candle to her in person. It had not captured the beauty of her, the dimensionality of her, the general picture, yes, but not the way the air seemed to glow around her, or the way other people lit up when they were with her.

The entire class had fallen silent, and Rose was the first to break it. "Dimitri…" she opened and closed her mouth several times, as though confused on whether or not she should be happy or angry, before deciding on her words.

"Class," she said turning away from me and back towards them, who were watching our exchange curiously, "this is Guardian Dimitri Belikov," I saw recognition flair in some of their eyes at my name, "and he has had the… _audacity _to ask me to spar with him."

She had decided on angry, obviously.

She turned back towards me, "Isn't that right, _Comrade._"

I raised an eyebrow, and started to speak, "Rose, I wanted to talk –"

"Come on, Dimitri." She said as she backed up, picking up a practice stake from where it lay on the mat, "Spar with me."

I stood there for a moment. Obviously she didn't want to talk to me, at least not yet. I sighed and licked my lips before shedding my duster and tossing it over to the bleachers for safe keeping, "Alright." I said to Rose.

She stood looking at me for a moment, in her eyes I didn't see hate, or disgust or anger. I saw something that made me want to claw my heart right out of my chest and die if it would make her better. She looked broken.

"Rose, I –" she didn't give me time to finish before she came at me. I mostly spent the time blocking hits, guarding myself against her angry fists. But as soon as she got a kick to my thigh I shifted into attack mode. I gave a hard punch that she easily blocked, and then she leaned back and kicked but I ducked just in time for her not to get a solid hit.

We were to in sync with each other, like always, and I doubted that either of us would really win this without one of us screwing up pretty badly.

She dropped to the ground in a crouch suddenly and both of her feet shot out to slam into my knees, which would no doubt bring me down, but I dived to the side and rolled so that her back was facing me. I didn't have a practice stake, which I realized now was a mistake, so I pretended to stake her with an imaginary one, but before my hand got there she turned and knocked it away.

It continued on like this for another ten minutes or so, neither of us making any progress. But then, just as I thought one of us would surrender I lost my balance, just the slightest shift in my weight, and she punched me. I blocked, but the force of the blow was enough to knock me back backwards and for Rose to lunge forward, her hand on my shoulders to pin me.

She brought the blunt ended stake down hard on my chest. I recoiled and yelled out, terrified. This was it, I was going to die. My jaw clenched painfully and I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, ready to embrace the pain. It was going to hurt like nothing else possibly could, like someone was shoving a searing hot mettle pole covered in acid straight into my heart. I had been staked once before and it was going to happen again, only this time I didn't think she would miss.

I waited for the pain, no – the agony – that I was going to experience, though it never came. After pausing for another few moments I opened my eyes again. My vision wasn't like I expected, I couldn't see every little eyelash on Rose, nor the imperfections, though slight, in her skin. My vision was almost blurry and it was completely silent, not at all what I was ready for.

And then I realized, I wasn't Strigoi anymore, and Rose wasn't clutching a real stake at all, it was blunt and dull and scratched up, not shiny and perfect and completely intact like a real stake would be.

I looked up at Rose, my laborious breathing matched hers. The look on her face was one of complete terror as she looked from the stake in her hand to my face and back again. Her chin trembled and her eyes glistened with unshed tears as her brown eyes locked on my face. "Dimitri…?" she asked, her voice quavering up at the end.

Everything was completely silent as I reached up and gripped her forearms, sitting up and guiding her with me. "It's okay Roza." I reassured, "It's going to be okay."

She opened her mouth to say something, her eyes darting back and forth between mine and I brought my hand up to brush a strand of hair back from her face. As soon as the pads of my fingers touched her cheek she was off me before I could blink.

"Class Dismissed," she called, and the students, who were all looking more than a little confused, filed past me. Rose caught one of them by the arm, the boy she had been sparring with earlier, and quietly talked to him. Whatever she asked of him he seemed reluctant to agree too, but he rolled his eyes and nodded before grabbing his coat and speed walking out of the gym.

I got up slowly, keeping my eyes on Rose as I collected my duster from where it was draped over a dummy. She had her back to me and her head down. She kept clenching and unclenching her fist and whipping at her face.

I waited for her to turn and face me but she never did, she only continued to stare down at the mat, letting out little sniffles every once in a while. I wasn't sure whether or not she knew I was still there so I broke the silence again, "Rose? Can we talk?"

She sniffed again and kept her head inclined away from me, "Go away," she finally said, grabbing her grey jacket from the bleachers and turning away from me, still hiding her face.

"Rose…" I said again, catching her wrist in my hand. She ripped her arm out of my grasp and started running, speeding through the gym doors and turning down the hallway. I cursed under my breath and sprinted after her, outside into the chilly late summer air. I watched her disappear into a building, and after bursting through the doors after her, I found out it was the dorms and there were students everywhere, looking in the direction that Rose had disappeared. I ran after her, gaining a lot of confused looks from the students as I went. I went up the stairs that she had taken, skipping every other one until I had reached the next floor, where Rose seemed to be.

A door slammed further down the hallway and I followed it, hopefully it was her room. It wasn't hard to find for she had pulled the door so hard that it didn't even shut and had instead bounced back, leaving it slightly ajar. I heard a thump and a muffled sob-like sounds issuing from the other side, so I pushed the door open, wincing as the hinges squeaked.

"Roza?" I whispered, stepping into the dark room.

She whipped around, her graceful body spinning easily to face me, and I could just barely make out her face in the shadows. She was crying, and when I say that I don't mean that her eyes were watering. I mean that her eyebrows were drawn together and her nose scrunched up in a futile effort to control the salty tears flowing down her cheeks. Her beautiful, pouty, rosy lips were parted and I could hear the little gasps issuing from between them. "Oh, Roza…" I whispered again, taking a step forward, into the room and towards her.

"Stop!" she shouted, "Go away!"

"Rose…"

But her hand flung out and she grasped at a book sitting on her desk. I was expecting her to be mad at me, to hate me, even, but I was _not_ expecting her to throw things at me. I just barely shielded my face from the book that sailed through the hair at my head with my forearms when she had picked up something else to hit me with.

She pitched the object at me, though I was too busy trying to avoid it to pay attention to what it was, "Leave me the fuck alone!" she said, her voice a cold whisper through gritted teeth, grabbing something else to hit me with and advancing on me.

"Roza," I whispered, backing up a little bit and bumping my back against the doorframe, "I'm so sorry, I was stup-"

She cut me off, attacking me with her fists, "Don't. Call. Me. That!" she punctuated each word with a punch, though most of hits were sloppy and lacked the force required to really hurt me. She was fighting out of desperation, not because she was in danger, or because she wanted to protect someone, but because she was scared and upset, and she was responding the only way she knew how, with violence.

I had never realized until then that maybe she wasn't as strong as I thought she was. Maybe my leaving had hurt her just as much as it had hurt me. I wished, more than anything, that I could fix that.

"Roza," I repeated, catching one of her wrists when it came at me, though she continued to beat my chest with the other. "Roza, stop this," I whispered and seized her other hand, holding them both firmly in my grasp, against my chest, "Talk to me."

She continued to fight against me; using her entire body this time to throw me off of her. Eventually she stopped trying to hit me and instead tried to pull herself away from me, her cries turning into whimpers and please for me to release her.

"Let go," she whispered brokenly, pulling her hands away from me. I let them go this time, but caught her face in my hands instead, whipping away her tears with my thumbs.

I murmured her name and hugged her to my chest, burring my face in her hair. She still sniffed and trembled, but her hands found the collar of my leather coat and her she leaned her forehead against my chest.

After a moment I leaned back to look at her face and my eyes locked onto her's. She never said anything, and I didn't dare break the silence, instead electing to brush the hair back from her face and to continue to gaze into her eyes.

Another sob wracked her body and she went slack in my arms, curving backwards into me. I pulled her up so that she was off the ground and walked backwards towards the unmade bed, where I gently set her down and made to pull away, but her hands were clenched tightly to my coat.

"Don't go," she murmured.

I sat beside her, "I won't," I told her, sinking down on the soft white comforters.

She sniffed and looked down, hiding her face with her long, brown waterfall of hair, "I thought you hated me." She said, her voice cracking, "I thought that I disgusted you, and you thought I was weak for letting you do those things to me."

I felt my brow crease with confusion, "Roza, what are you – "

"And I hoped and hoped that somewhere in there you loved me. That maybe you were just tied up…" tears ran down her nose and dripped onto the blankets, where they pooled for a moment before being soaked up, "And then you didn't come and see me… ever. Then I heard you left, and I realized that you really hated me, and you didn't even care for me enough to come see me before they killed me." She had started shaking violently then, but still continued. "And even though I asked for you every time Abe came down to see me, you wouldn't come… and all I wanted was to see you again before I died, just to look at you. Even if it meant seeing what I lost, what I could never have, I still wanted to see you."

"Roza," I whispered, getting off of the bed and kneeling in front of her, "Rosa, I'm so sorry…" I brushed her hair away and pulled her chin up using my finger. The tracks that tears made ran down her face shined dully and I leaned forward to kiss them away.

"Why are you here?" she asked, jerking her face out of my grasp, face transforming back into one of furry, "Why are you here now when you hated me then?"

I grasped her hands and she tried to tug them away but I kept my hold, "I've always loved you Rose. There has never been a moment, and there never will be as long as I am alive, that I didn't love you." I stroke the side of her face, my fingers sliding along her smooth, moist skin, "_I_ thought _you_ would hate me for what I had done to you… I was worried that every time you looked at me all you would be able to see was the monster I was."

Her eyes softened and I stopped gripping her hands in case she now wanted to get away from me, but she didn't move them.

"Everyone is so worried about you, and we want you to come home," I told her, stroking her hands with my thumbs.

She shook her head and a few more tears escaped her eyes, "I can't. I need to find someone."

I was so caught up in her eyes, big and brown and glistening with tears, that all I could mumble was a halfhearted reply as I leaned forward to hug her against me,

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I supported her little frame in my arms. Suddenly, before I could react, she tilted her head in such a way that our lips met in a kiss.

.

**BO YA! That's the latest chapter! Hope you liked it!**

**Who wants a lemon? I do! They are just so tangy and sour… I could eat them allllll day!**

**Yeah, but seriously, how long do you think Dimitri can keep his hands off of her? Or vice versa…**

**You shall discover if you click on the little "REVIW THIS CHAPTER" button at the bottom of the page, tell me just how much you need me to write about some… naughty things…**

_**A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: We hope you enjoy the….um…****climax (HA get it?) ****in the next chapter! Veronica is working her ass off! So review, review, review, so she won't procrastinate, my sheer will power won't keep her writing! Also, if you could explain to her that asking people online to tell her what naughty things they neeeeed is dangerous/ pervish/ kinda scary… that would be awesome.**_

_**Sincerely;**_

_**Tallanted Publishing! **_


	11. The Pledged Lemon

**You know what's sad - My editor makes spelling jokes to me. I'm dyslexic... she knows that.**

**And so CHAPTER 11 BEGINS! I hope you guys like this…**

**Wow… I broke 100 reviews with the last chapter! Thanks for the support! I get the best reviews from you guys. Every time see an email I start grinning like a maniac and I just can't wait to see what you guys wrote to me! Even when it's bad, I like the criticism!**

**Sorry for the wait, I've been busy; what with being in a play… softball… art contests… poster contests… glee club… Parent/Teacher/Student conferences… I feel like I'm running a million miles an hour! (And the super bowl… GO PACKERS!)**

**So… enough with my babbling… I know what you are waiting for! :]**

.

I couldn't help but kiss him. It was something about the way his eyes were so soft then, caressing me warmly as he smiled gently. His arms cradled me against his warm, hard chest, and for the first time in a long time I felt little and girly… and loved.

I pulled us together by sliding my arms behind his neck and leaning forward, into him so that our lips met. Dimitri didn't respond right away, and for a moment I panicked, but when his lips trembled and parted just a little, so that he caught my lower lip in between his, I relaxed again. The heat of his mouth flooded into mine, causing a soft moan to form in my throat. His stubble scratched a little on my cheeks and chin, but in a pleasant sort of way. Neither of us made a move to pull away or deepen the kiss for the longest time, instead just gently brushing our mouths together. Carefully testing the waters.

After a good minuet of light kisses Dimitri pulled back ever so slightly so that we could look into each other's eyes, the hands around my waist still holding me against him. His eyes were warm and so many emotions smoldered in them that I couldn't look away from him, and his scent, clean, crisp and masculine, wafted around me, causing a longing to stir in my heart and in between my thighs. The sweat on him from our recent fight was musky and mixed with his aftershave made me want to bottle and drink his aroma.

I unwound my hands from around his neck and slid them down the collar of his duster. I had to pull my eyes away from his passionate gaze, for if I continued to stare for much longer I had a feeling I would implode from the sheer intensity of it. My hands slipped under the leather, moving against his white cotton shirt, which was still damp with sweat. I pushed the coat off of his shoulders and he shrugged it off the rest of the way, exposing his muscled arms to me.

He was still kneeling in between my legs, but after he had shed the duster he stood up and crawled onto the bed with me and we scooted up until our heads were resting on the cushy pillows. He brushed a stray strand of hair behind my ear and whispered, "You're the only person I know who can look so beautiful when crying."

He was right, I was still crying, but not because I was upset, because I definitely wasn't, but because he was with me, and I had wanted this so much, for so long.

His lips found mine again, though this time they were harder and more demanding, while his fingers worked at the zipper on my jacket, tugging on it a little, exposing my loose white tank top to him. He nudged my lips with his tongue, causing me to open them so that it slipped in between them. I nudged back and our mouths molded together, tongues sliding against tongues, lips against lips. Our kisses made little wet sounds in the silence as he pulled of my jacket, which I threw unceremoniously onto the floor.

I knew where this was headed, or at least, I hoped it was headed where I wanted it too, and that would require losing a lot more than just our coats. My hands found the hem of his shirt and I tugged on it, trying to get it off. He, regretfully, broke our kiss and sat up, quickly pulling his shirt over his head, revealing the body he had gained through hours of training. More beautiful than Michelangelo's David, or Adonis, more so than anyone.

Once he was lying next to me we started kissing again. It was amazing. No other boy had kissed me like Dimitri did, he dominated me and yet he was so soft and sweet. But he wasn't a boy, that was obvious. He wasn't some inexperienced, fumbling, only-ever-groped-a-girl schoolboy. No, not him, Dimitri was a man, and one that seemed to have had a lot of practice.

My hands traced down the hard, flat muscles of his chest and stomach until it found the soft little trail of dark hair that led from his navel to the hem of his pants and, inevitably, what lay underneath. My fingers found his belt buckle, quickly undid it, and then started on the button and zipper.

Before I could get much further he had sat up and pulled one of my legs over. He pushed the pants leg up to my knee and started untying my shoes, kissing my calf as he did so. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, and it seemed he couldn't either, for his eyes, hazy and lusty, were gazing into mine. The lighting in the room was dim and I could only partially see his face, but I could see that he wore a look of complete adoration and love… and it was all for me.

The position I was in gave me a wonderful view of him, his face, his chest. Oh, god his chest, tan and muscled and smooth, with hard pink nipples. I noticed for the first time that he was hairless other than the line of hair that ran from his groin up. The way his bare skin shone in the light was enough to send a bolt of heat straight through me.

When he was done removing my shoes and socks he leaned over me so one of his knees was in between my legs to support himself, and his hands found the waistband of my sweats. I lifted my hips and he dragged them down my legs, slowly and carefully, before dropping them over the side of the bed.

He was suddenly on top of me, kissing me and stroking the skin on my bare thighs. I reached out to him and found his pants again, running my hand over the budge that had formed underneath, causing a growl to escape from his throat. His arms tightened around me so that I couldn't move and I was pressed tightly to his chest. The heat between my legs didn't want any more teasing, and I didn't want to ignore it. All it, and I, could think about was Dimitri's manhood… all we, my crotch and I, could remember was how it had felt last time.

He had raised an eyebrow at my giggles, but when I slammed my lips to his, searching for his belt loops with my hands, our mouths starting a sensual dance of their own, he responded immediately. When I finally did manage to tug the jeans off of him, he had begun with my shirt, pushing it up on my stomach, his hands sliding along my body and leaving a trail of hot, tingling skin in their wake

His long, rough fingers found my sports bra and started gently kneading my breast through the cotton, his free hand pulling my shirt off. It didn't take much longer for me to be almost naked save my panties.

He pulled back, his breath coming in labored pants, "Wait."

"Hold on," his eyes were hazy and pretty and brown, and I could see how much he wanted to continue just with that one look.

I whined and started kissing him again, mumbling, "It can wait," against his mouth, pushing my still covered sex against his crotch, my panties the only separation.

He chuckled, and I loathed the calm, seemingly unaffected aura that he was pulling off, though I could feel his engorged member against me. "No, it really can't."

I sighed, twining my fingers into the hair on the back of his head, waiting for him to continue. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he started, his eyes trained on my face, "I mean… just fifteen minutes ago you were trying to kill me."

His lack of sarcasm offended me a little and raised my eyebrows. Why couldn't Dimitri be a normal twenty four year old for once? Was he completely immune to the young, beautiful, almost naked girl underneath him?

I didn't dignify the question with a response; instead I grabbed his head and slammed my lips to his, thrusting my tongue into his warm mouth.

He seemed to take that as a response. "Roza…" he whispered, rolling so that his body was facing mine, and mine faced up, our bare bodies pressed so close that I could feel the heartbeat against the side of my breasts, his erection against my thigh. He was drowning me with kisses, long and slow and open mouthed all over my neck and face.

One of his hands made its way down my body, caressing and tickling all the way down until it snaked its way under my panties and into my crisp brown pubic hair. I gasped and bucked my hips as he slid his fingers along my slit twice. My muscles twitched and my nerves were on fire. One of his fingers found my opening and teased it gently, caressing with the pad of his finger, before slipping it inside of me. I mewed and squirmed, clutching at his arms, my nails digging into the skin.

"Do you like that, Roza?"

Just that sentence, those words, like liquid lust, almost made me climax, and I whimpered and murmured something that resembled, "Oh, God… Yes…." I felt his lips against my brow, and a smirk as he kissed me there.

He kneaded my little button of nerves with his thumb while he slowly thrust his finger into me over and over again. My hips bucked into his hand and my back arched, but his fingers didn't waver from their rhythm. When I did manage to open my eyes and make anything out other than the smell, feel, and sound all I could see was him, and that intense, serious expression he wore.

He tilted my head back and kissed me, moving himself so that he was kneeling between my legs, carefully pulling down my panties as he moved. When he got them all the way down I kicked them away and pulled him towards me. He managed to keep his fingers buried inside of me while he did so, and then, when I was sure I was about to fall into that wonderful bliss he pulled it out.

The sound I made was something between a wine and a shocked gasp, but it didn't last long, for he leaned forward and claimed my mouth with his. I couldn't object to that, and when he settled in between my thighs I wrapped my arms around him, one behind his neck and the other across his lower back.

His hand slid down between our bodies, briefly pausing to toy with my breasts before continuing lower, and, though I couldn't feel it, I had a pretty good idea what he was doing.

My assumption was confirmed when he nudged the head of his cock into me.

Lissa had told me that it hurt the first time, but after that it was all pleasure. Perhaps it was just her, but that was most certainly not the case here. I cried out and writhed against him, the pain sudden and fast. The ripping sensation was familiar, since was _not _a virgin, obviously, as was the pain, but I hadn't been expecting it my second time. The first time it was kind of understandable… but after that weren't you supposed to be able to have sex without it hurting?

He slid all the way into me, and, though it hurt, the undeniable pleasure I was feeling as he did so was almost enough to eradicate the stinging completely.

"Are you alright?" Dimitri whispered, cradling me carefully in his arms. I felt the tears prick at my eyes, but nodded. He had the guiltiest, sorry look on his face, and stilled once he was all the way in. We lay together for a moment, one of his hands brushing the hair back from my face as he placed openmouthed kisses against my neck and chest. I knew that once he started moving the pain would turn to pleasure, so I rolled my hips to get us started.

Dimitri took the hint and started long, slow thrusts, pausing every few seconds, and my slight whimpers of pain soon turned into gasps of pleasure. We moved together, cocooning each other in our embraces, morphing our bodies into one. It was beautiful and I was blissed out, unable to control anything my body did. With every stroke into me, the pleasure in the pit of my stomach built, until I was writing against him, begging for him to make me climax.

"Oh… God!" I whispered, clutching onto Dimitri tightly. Looking at his face you could hardly tell that he was doing something so intimate, he seemed so serious and determined, yet still amazingly loving.

"Nhhhuhh!" I arched up against him and gasped, "Dimitri! Oh, please, God…"

His eyes squeezed shut and his lips parted, and we shuttered against each other, loosing ourselves to the orgasms. Hell, it felt more like one orgasm that we were both sharing, like we were a soul inhabiting two bodies. I threw my head back in a scream, though no sound came out, and I could vaguely hear Dimitri murmuring in Russian as we continued to clutch onto each other, riding out the pleasure together. My orgasm was impossibly long, and I was sure Dimitri's had stopped while I was still trembling from it.

I don't know whether it was the passion of it, the intimacy, or maybe I was just on an emotional roller costar, and making love had been the breaking point, but I somehow ended up wrapped in Dimitri's arms, sobbing.

"Roza… are you alright?" he whispered to me, his warm breath fanning out against my ear, "Did I hurt you?" When I didn't answer he continued, "Should we have waited? Was it too soon? God, I'm sorry…" he continued on like that for a while I choked out garbled objections.

Once I had slowed my breathing and stopped the waterworks to a point where he could actually understand what I was saying I murmured, "Sorry… I'm just… God… that was so beautiful."

He chuckled, and I could feel the vibrations against my skin, our chests and stomachs were pressed together, and he was still buried inside of me, and I would have been happy to keep it like that forever.

Sadly that wouldn't work out, because we would have to leave the room… eventually, that and he slipped out of me and rolled over onto his back. One of his arms looped around my shoulders and I snuggled up against his side.

I could feel his lips against my forehead and he whispered, "Oh, Roza…" he turned towards me and smiled tiredly, hugging me to his chest, "I love you… have I told you?"

I was sure at the time that I was grinning so widely that my muscles would get stuck there, "You too comrade."

He took one deep breath and exhaled, and I knew that he was probably planning on cuddling up with me and sleeping. But suddenly, I was absolutely positive the last thing I wanted to do was sleep.

I turned on my side and kissed him, one of my arms wrapping around his neck. He sighed contentedly and kissed back gently, his soft, yet firm lips molding together with mine. My free hand found his flat, muscled chest and traced down the lines down his stomach. He pulled his hips back once I reached his navel.

"Aren't you tired?" he whispered, his warm, sweet breath fanning out against my face, making the hair on the back of my neck raise. He certainly wasn't, for I could feel his erection against my thigh.

I bit my lip and my hand continued lower. I could feel his stomach muscles contracting and he took a deep breath, "Roza-"

His English was suddenly turned into Russian as I curled my fingers around his hardness. I couldn't understand what he was saying, but I'm sure it was a swear word. He was still slick from our earlier escapades and he twitched and grew in my hand.

I hadn't _really_ seena… well I _had_ never seen a cock before. Even though Dimitri and I had made love twice now, I hadn't seen it or touched it, or anything. Mostly I had been too busy being caught up in his eyes and the beatific expressions on his face to gaze elsewhere. But now, now that I was holding it, feeling it tremble and jerk in my grasp… I felt like we were at a whole new level of intimacy.

I knew what a penis was supposed to look like… and how to, generally, pleasure it. What I was concerned about was my assumptions being wrong. I took a breath and looked down.

I was shocked… it looked pretty much like I assumed it would, except for the fact that I was surprised it had ever been able to fit it inside of me. His erection was long and thick and just on the verge of too big. It was also beautiful. Or at least in my eyes. I'm sure someone else would probably look at it and wonder why anyone would want to touch it, but it thought it was flawless. That and it was part of Dimitri, and I was pretty sure no one could be as perfect.

I didn't move for a little while, until I looked up and realized that Dimitri had caught me staring. He raised his eyebrows at me and I started moving my hand a little. His face contorted in pleasure and I felt the arm that was around me tense and pull me towards him a little.

I leaned forward and gently touched my lips to his. I trailed my tongue along them and they opened instantly to let me in, his warm tongue slithering in, probing and stroking mine. I traced the outline of his lips as we kissed with my free hand and pressed my body tighter against his. His little moans vibrated in my mouth and he started pumping his hips, pushing his very large, very hard cock through my slippery grasp. I kind of wanted to know what it tasted like, hell, I knew I was practically the only girl in my class, or rather, graduated class, that hadn't given a blow job… but at the same time I thought maybe that would be taking it a little too far…

"Dimitri?" I asked quietly. His eyes opened and focused on me, and I watched his pupil's adjust to the light, his long eyelashes casting spider web shadows on his cheek and nose.

I swallowed. "Am I doing it right?"

As soon as I had asked the question it sounded stupid, and so I blushed and looked down at my hand. I hoped he would pretend I had never said that, I didn't want a response anymore, and I was too embarrassed to even look at him. Being in his presence, knowing that he was so much more experienced than I was, it was daunting; he had probably been with women who could do a handstand while giving a blowjob, and I was only just seeing my first cock, just touching my first cock, Dimitri was my first lover. I knew I probably didn't compare.

I was too caught up in my own mortification to realize that he had stopped moving. I felt his hand behind my head, turning it to look at him.

"Roza…" he whispered, nuzzling his face into mine and kissing my quivering lips, "Of course you're doing it right… it feels amazing." I felt a little tear track down my face and he leaned forward, catching the salty drop with his lips.

I started moving my hand again, stroking him. I knew that even if I was doing horribly wrong he would lie and tell me how wonderful it felt, he would never want to embarrass someone by correcting them. Well, not with this… when it came into the realm of snap kicks and throwing hooks he would drill it into you until you got it perfect. It might be a little embarrassing when it came to being corrected with fighting… but sex? I think I would probably start crying.

His big warm hand caught mine and squeezed. "Roza," Dimitri said quietly, "look at me."

He wasn't asking me, it was almost like an order, but when I looked up his face was soft. "Oh, beautiful Rose."

I was sure I looked like some sort of wounded puppy with the way I was looking at him, that and completely fucked.

He smiled, his beautiful half lidded eyes sparkling in the light, "Just being with you makes me insane," he squeezed my hand, which was still wrapped around his cock, "_this _is making me feel insane."

"Really?" I asked, "You're not just saying that?"

He smiled and kissed my forehead, "No, defiantly not."

I was still nervous about it, really it was a daunting prospect; this long, hard thing in between my fingers that needed sating. Dimitri wouldn't just leave me hanging with this… would he?

He seemed to sense my hesitation, because he gently opened my legs and buried a hand in my folds. I was about to protest, that I would rather not have the distraction, but he quickly removed his hand. Unwinding his arm from around me, he reached down and pulled my hand gently away, smearing my juices from his other hand onto his own manhood. He then replaced his arm around me, and took my hand again, guiding it towards his cock.

I realized then that he wasn't just going to leave me hanging like I had feared, he was going to teach me. Install confidence in me before he let me go and do it myself, just like he always had. And it wasn't just about his pleasure either, it was about being together.

I held it delicately, but his hand covered mine and squeezed more firmly than I would have thought was comfortable, immediately making me feel stupid. He kissed me, sweet and wet and beautify.

As our hands started moving he quietly said, "Sometimes harder and faster is better, sometimes softer… it really depends on how frantic you are, I guess." It really wasn't all that different than what I had been doing, just the pressure. He started moving his hips again, and I watched his face, his eyelids fluttering, his lips puckering a little, as our hands worked together. After a few moments he let go of my hand and instead pulled my lips to his, wiping some of my wetness against my face as he did so. He kissed me, passionately, his mouth dominating mine.

I was a little worried about going at it alone, but his lips, trembling and warm, and his arms, pulling me closer, were hard to say no too. I made my way down there with my other hand and it joined in.

He pulled away. "Rose…" he whispered, his eyes opened and we just gazed at each other for a moment, though my hands never stopped stroking. His breathing sped up, his hips pushing his cock in my hands never faltered. "Roza," he swallowed, "I love you." he wasn't wearing that soft lopsided smile he usually wore when he told me that, his eyes weren't loving and gentle like normal. Looking into his eyes, opened wider than I had ever seen them before, it was like seeing into his soul. I could see, for the first time, all of those confused, raw emotions that were swirling inside of him. He looked so scared and upset and angry that I gasped.

He jerked once and started shuttering, his eyes closed and his mouth open. Muscles flexed around me and I felt a warm gushy spray against my stomach. He didn't make any noises, his were eyes closed and his lips were parted. I looked down and watched as his whitish seed coated my stomach and hands.

When there were no more spurts he stopped tensing his muscles and fell against the bed. He turned his head to the side, his face half hidden in my soft pillow. It was beautiful, his tan skin, full, pinkish lips, long nose, all contrasting beautifully with the white pillows. A strand of dark hair fell across his face, shining in the light.

For a moment I considered asking about why he had been so intense a few moment ago, but when I saw how relaxed and tired he looked I decided against it, perhaps tomorrow.

His eyes fluttered open and he watched me for a moment, though he seemed kind limp, like he was recovering from the power of his orgasm. I felt him softening in my grasp and looked down again. I swiped the head of his penis with my thumb, gathering the warm, whitish goo on my finger. He gasped and hissed a little with the contact and I immediately let go. We both glanced at each other apologetically, but quickly smiled. "Just a little sensitive." He whispered.

I raised my thumb to my mouth and licked the cum off of it. He arched an eyebrow at me and I sighed and curled up beside him, sleepy and warm, listening to his uneven breathing as it slowed. I closed my eyes and was ready to catch some sleep when I felt a hand slide over my stomach and his soft, wet lips against my ear. He sucked gently at the lobe and his tongue traced the shell of it.

I snuggled closer to him, ready to fall into a peaceful darkness in his arms, not bothering to wipe his seed off of my stomach.

One of his big, rough hands slid over my breast and squeezed and I responded instantly with a moan.

He chuckled and rolled so that he trapped my body underneath his, "You aren't tired… are you Rose?"

His tone was teasing, and I whimpered in response. My nipples were aching under the warmth of his palms as he kneaded them, and then, when he leaned down and captured one in his mouth, I could feel my eyes roll back and my body quaver. His lips moved lower, licking off the evidence of his pleasure as he went, his hands stayed at my breasts though, playing and squeezing.

He spread my legs and hooked them over both of his shoulders, burying his face against my thigh. He let out a long, appreciative noise before I heard him say, "You must have the best smell in the world, Roza."

I gasped as the heat of his breath spread over my fluttering cunt muscles, winding my fingers in his hair. The first pass was like heaven, the velvety, warm texture of his tongue as it stroked me was unlike anything I had ever felt before. I moaned and writhed and bucked against him, and with every new sensation came a new level of pleasure. His tongue nudged my clit wickedly, over and over, before he trapped it in between his lips and sucked. That and the feel of his fingers, curling and stroking inside of me pushed me over, until I was biting my lips hard to keep myself from screaming at the top of my lungs.

And then he still wasn't done with me… as soon as I had crested the peak of one orgasm, his long, skilled fingers were preparing me for another, and another. I lost count of how many times I came, but finally, after what felt like a million times I gasped and grabbed his hand, gently pulling it out of me.

He laughed, probably at the look on my face, for I was still shaking and my muscles were still tensing every few moments. My thighs were bathed in some of my own liquid, and some of his, and when our lips found each other's I realized that almost his entire face was covered in my essence, and I could taste myself. His fingers, I could only hold my eyes open long enough after our lips parted to catch a glance of his face, his gorgeous, tan, compassionate face.

"Sleep, Rose," he commanded, and I did, curled up, completely fucked, and feeling more loved than I thought possible by a Russian named Dimitri.

As I slipped into sleep I couldn't help but remember that haunting look in his eyes. There was something he wasn't telling me.

…

_**Important!**___**I'm planning on their being about ten more chapters, so we will end somewhere around 20… I've got tons more ideas floating around in my head at the moment, all of them are Vampire Academy related… probably around chapter 18 I'll post a nice little poll and you can decide what story I should write first after this one. I don't know if any of you will like it… every time I mention one to my editor she gets this blank look in her eyes… so they might not work out… we shall see! Thanks for all the support guys! I love you all!**

**~VeronicaT175 **


	12. The Moments

**Sorry I took so long, I really just needed a break. We just wrapped up the play, I got picked for the softball team, I went snowboarding over spring break, I'm attempting to bring my grade up and Madison has started her own fic… which I am now editing! Anyway, here you go, hope you enjoy!**

**I cannot thank you enough for all of the support you guys have given me =] every time I get an email that tells me I have a new review I freak out and I can't stop grinning, even long after I've closed the email (Hell, I'm smiling like I just had sex with Dimitri at the moment from re-reading all the reviews!). just got to say, don't worry – I will defiantly be continuing on, just took a much needed vacation!**

"**Veronica doesn't own anything." Rose grinned widely, "Oh, look! It's a Russian!"**

**VeronicaT, who had been banging her head against the wall for the past few moments, jerks up to see Dimitri entering the room. "Help me!" She calls, "Shut her the fuck up and get her to do the disclaimer!"**

"**Meany!" Rose said, from her place hanging upside down on the couch.**

**Dimitri takes a few steps towards her and cocks his head, "What's wrong with her."**

"**I think she's high…"**

"**On what?" He snorts.**

"**Lissa bit me!" Rose flips over, sliding down on the floor on her stomach, "And then I had some pot… I think. Can we go horseback riding? You can't be a cowboy without a horse!"**

**VeronicaT stands up, "Fuck this, I didn't come up with the damn Vampire Academy stories, therefore I'm not that awesome, so just read my story all ready!"**

**Rose gives a loopy smile and turns to Dimitri, running a hand down his face, "Your Pretty."**

**=] read on for more of my story!**

…

"Your weak!" I growled, gripping her by the shoulder hard, my fingers digging into her skin.

She trembled and shook her head, "I'm not!" she attempted a punch but missed anything that would have hurt, flopping back against my chest, "I'm not weak, I'm strong. Stronger than you anyway! I didn't turn into a monster like you did!"

Snarling, I bared my fangs at her and she shrank back and whimpered, "And you love it…" I leaned forward and licked at her neck, where an earlier wound was slowly oozing blood, "You moan like a whore! You beg me to fuck you…"

I bit down just to prove my point. She called out in pain before sinking into me and groaning. My hand trailed down her body, squeezing her breasts, before finding their target of her crotch, she ground herself against my hand, panting and whimpering.

I pulled away and she collapsed, but I held her up, licking her sweet blood off my lips. She mumbled incoherently as she recovered from the endorphins, "You're never going to listen once I turn you, you'll be nothing but a hassle. I'm afraid you would bring more pain than pleasure."

That was a low blow, she had been begging me for sex, or _love making_ as she called it, and sometimes I wanted nothing more than to give into her requests and get the release we both wanted, but I was in a bad mood today… and she had just let that bastard punch her.

Her face contorted in pain and tears started tracking down her cheeks. "Dimitri…" her warm hands touched my chest through my shirt.

Usually, I was okay with her emotional outbursts, but today, if she was going to start crying I would get out of here, I didn't want to lose my temper any more than I already had.

"Dimitri, I'm sorry…"

"Stop, Rose." My voice was rough and menacing, rumbling low in my chest.

She sobbed and I let go of her, turning to go towards the door, away from here. I needed to calm down.

"I didn't mean too –"

"That's right Rose." I turned, my voice drenched in an ice-like chill "You didn't mean too because your so careless. You can't seem to help but to do horrible at everything you try. I could never rely on you as my second in command." I grabbed her neck with both hands, "I should just kill you now and save the world from your damn stupidity, you dirty cunt!"

She gasped, her lips quivering, her eyes as wide as a doe's. She griped my wrists with her little hands, "Dimitri… this isn't you…"

"This is me!" I roared, slamming her against a wall, "and I swear I'm going to kill you!"

The tears tracked down her face and she reached out to brush some of my hair back, "I can't think of any other hand I would rather die by."

And so I snapped Rose's neck.

Everything dissolved around me until I was cold and damp, my back pressed against a rough stone wall.

"Hmm…" my head snapped up, "What part of dear old Rosie does Dimitri like best?"

My eyes widened as I looked at him, the dark, short cropped hair, those black, reddish eyes, his pasty, unhealthy looking skin. I would know him anywhere, "Se- Sebastian?"

He laughed, it was a cold and cruel. I imagine that's what I sounded like when I was Strigoi. "What do you like most about Rose?" he asked again, holding up a very sharp looking knife, it glinted menacingly in the light.

I noticed her then, naked and being restrained by two others, her body curved back with the force they were holding her. "Dimitri!" she called out and began struggling, trying to tear her bloodied wrists from their grips. They growled and one punched her in the stomach, causing her to double over and stop fighting against them, whimpering.

"No!" I turned towards Sebastian, "Let her go!"

He ignored me and continued, "Her eyes? Shall I gorge them out?" he grinned, "Or perhaps her breasts? They are quite nice, aren't they?" The two men agreed, their foul eyes looking down at her bare body, and Sebastian made his way over towards her. "Do you have a preference Dimitri?" I yanked at the chains, trying my hardest to get to Rose, and they rattled loudly and dug into my wrists, but they held fast.

"No… please…" I begged, "Don't hurt her!"

He laughed, "You indifferent about it? Let's start with something easy…" he grabbed her hair and yanked her forward. She bit her lip to keep from screaming out in pain.

"Such a waste…" he said, slicing the blade through her chocolate locks. He held them in his hand for a moment, ivory against ebony, then he turned his hand upside down and released them so that they fell at her feet, spreading out on the grey stones like liquid.

His barking laughter filled the room and I threw all of my weight against the chains, "Stop! Damn it, I'll kill you!"

His obnoxious laugh got louder, "_Oh! He's going to kill me! Save me!"_ He looked at the others, the smirk so cruel that I had to doubt he was ever a dhampir. "Let's cut to the chase shall we… she kind of screwed up our fun, we were rather looking forward to watching her squirm around our cocks… and since I don't have to share with Quinn anymore… and that _gorgeous _slut seems to be all hot and bothered…" as he spoke he started unbuttoning his jeans, when Rose saw she started really struggling.

"I get her… all to myself."

The men slammed her down on her hands and knees, facing me. She had the most shameful look on her face. The tears tracking down her cheeks glistened in the light as he kneeled behind her.

"Oh, how perfect…" he showed me a fanged grin. His hand started to rub between her legs, "What a nice little pussy this is!"

She tensed, and before I could say anything she let out a scream that could wake the dead.

"Oh, God, no!" I cried, watching her face crumple in pain. She sobbed and tried to crawl away but was held down. I saw the blood trail down the inside of her thighs as he started moving his hips, fast and deep and hard.

"Ooh…" he scrunched up his face, his lip rising in what was supposed to be a sexy snarl, "Tight." He slid his hand softly up her back only to scrape it back down, causing four lines of blood to appear.

He yanked her head back so that Rose had to look at me with those frightened, hurt eyes. "Dimitri is the reason this is happening," he slammed his hand down on her backside, causing her to yelp and flinch, "He's the reason you're going to die."

I was startled awake to the feel of soft, warm flesh pressed against my chest. I was sweating and gasping and shaking. My eyes were so blurred that I couldn't even make out dark shape in front of my face. I blinked and rubbed harshly at my eyes, which were crusty and gooey with tears.

I was outstretched on a soft double bed in a small, white room. Curled up against my stomach, breathing slowly, her face pressed against my bare chest was Rose. We were cuddled together so tightly that I could feel the slightest fluctuation in her breathing, the rise and fall of her chest, her hands twitching as she dreamt. Both of her legs were wrapped around one of mine, and both of my arms were cradling her against my chest. She looked so beautiful, peacefully resting against me, her dark hair fanned out behind her, her lips parted as she breathed.

After a confused moment of trying to remember the happenings of last night I smiled. Of all the times I had had sex, with anyone, the previous night with Rose, hands down, was the best. Not just physically, but emotionally, I had never been with anyone on that level before. Not even when I was given Rose's virginity had such a powerful connection overcome the two of us.

I let out a content breath and watched as it stirred her hair, smiling, before closing my eyes and slipping back into a light, sleep.

A series of knocks caused me to start, jostling Rose in the process, who moaned and scrunched up her face before her breathing leveled out and a peaceful look came over her again. With a sigh, I carefully removed myself from her, feeling the muscles and joints pull and pop as I stretched. After tucking Rose back into the covers, and making sure she was completely covered, I picked up my jeans from where they had been discarded last night, half across the desk chair next to the bed, and pulled them on, not bothering with my boxers (which seemed to have mysteriously disappeared).

Whoever it was knocked again and I made my way to the door and opened it. Standing outside was a dark haired, oddly pail dhamphir, who I recognized as the boy Rose had stopped yesterday after class.

He let out a startled grunt and stepped back, eyes wide, seemingly surprised at my appearance. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have the wrong room – I was looking for Guardian Hathaway," He spoke quickly and respectfully in Russian, though a thick American accent was prominent, and he started backing away.

I cleared my throat and leaned against the cool wooden door frame, "You've got the right place," I ran a hand through my hair and looked back into the room, where Rose was still sleeping soundly, before I stepped out, shutting the door behind me. "She is still sleeping," I rubbed my right eye with the heel of my hand, "She had a…" I let out a breathy laugh, "She had a rough night last night."

His eyes widened and he fidgeted with his shirt, probably uncomfortable at what my words suggested. I couldn't keep the smirk and flush off my face.

Instead I settled with, "What can I help you with?"

He blushed and scratched his head, "We were supposed to put in some extra training this morning, but if she isn't available, I understand, I'll just… I'll train with her in class."

I shook my head, my hand going to the back of my neck of its own accord at the mention of training. _Training._ It sounded like such a good idea right about now. How long had it been since I had last trained? Three, maybe four months? I opened the door to peak at the clock, it was around four thirty and I was sure Rose wouldn't be up for another two hours at least.

"Tell you what," I sighed, "How about you give me thirty minutes to get ready and I'll see if _Guardian Hathaway," _I smiled as I addressed her with her full title, "is willing to get up. If she is we will be down at five, and if not then I'll put in a few hours with you.

He agreed and I slipped back into the room, where Rose was still sleeping, curled up on her side and breathing deeply.

Grinning I crawled under the covers behind her, spooning her little body against mine, where she fit perfectly, her back against my chest.

"Good morning, Roza," I whispered, placing an openmouthed kiss against her neck, she moaned in response, "You need to wake up so you can go train with one of your students."

She rolled over and nuzzled her face against my neck, "Ow…" she murmured, wrapping her arms around my neck and throwing a leg over my hip.

I kissed her forehead gently and rubbed a hand along the inside of her thigh, "You sore?" I whispered

"Fuck you," she kicked my calf with her bare foot, though not very hard, for I was pretty sure she was half asleep still, "Fuck you and your Washington Monument sized penis!" she turned away and curled up a little, her back pressed against my chest.

"Oh, Roza," I kissed the side of her face and she nudged me away with her shoulder, giving a little groan of annoyance, "I'm sorry. If you can't handle my…" I glanced down, I knew she was looking out of the corner of her eye, so I adjusted myself in my pants, "_manhood… _We don't ever have to do it again… I promise. I'll never force myself upon you." I was being melodramatic.

"Good!" she snapped, wiggling to get comfortable, "Wait…" She turned towards me, eyes wide, "What! No!"

I smiled and pressed my lips against hers before saying, "Do you need me to take your morning training with your student?" There was an obvious answer to that question. Rose's eyes were only half open, looking a little bloodshot, and I was pretty sure there was some dried drool on the side of her face. How she made that look beautiful I had no idea, yet somehow she did. "Yeah, I'll go ahead and take this one training session, you get some more sleep. You look like you could use it."

"Was that an insult?" she asked groggily, her eyes closing as she relaxed back into the bed. I would have responded if she hadn't fallen asleep already, so I just pulled the covers up around her until all that could be seen of her was her forehead and closed eyes.

"I'll see you later, Roza," I murmured, placing a kiss against her temple.

I didn't want to ever get up; I wanted to stay there with her forever, make love to her again when she woke up, and then again after we had rested… and possibly again after that. Though that wasn't probable, considering that she was a teacher with classes, and we needed to have a talk, badly.

After getting completely dressed I took what I hoped was the room key off of Rose's dresser and made my way down stairs and to the gym, where the dark haired student was sitting against the far wall. My bag, which I had set down on the bleachers last night, was still there, since I had been too busy chasing Rose to pick it up. Grabbing hold of it, I took it into the changing room, where I put on clean clothes before meeting up with him again.

The student walked over to me and folded his arms across his chest, awaiting my instructions. "Is there a track outside?" I asked simply, pulling a battered western out of my bag and sitting down on a mat in the middle of the gym.

"Of course, an Olympic sized."

"Great," I stretched out, opening to a page I had dog-eared earlier, "Run eight laps."

He sucked in a breath, "What!" He asked outraged, "But that's two whole miles!"

"Don't worry," I responded, opening my book, "It's only a warm-up." He sighed and made his way outside. I counted the laps he made by watching out of the big windows that sat behind the bleachers. He did a good six before he slowed, which was much longer than I expected, though I knew Rose could have handled at least ten before she even started to show weakness. Once he had finished he stumbled back into the gym and collapsed on the mats a few feet away from me, gulping down a bottle of water before turning back towards me.

"That was some fight yesterday," he commented as I continued reading, "you guys seemed pretty… uh… pissed."

I snorted, "Ro- _Guardian Hathaway _started it," I still wasn't used to calling her by her guardian title, I had to adjust soon, lest the students find out about our relationship, although from our earlier meeting, Josh seemed to have his suspicions.

He laughed under his breath and rolled onto his back, facing the ceiling. The silence was awkward, so I asked quietly, "What's your name?"

"Josh Boroi," he cleared his throat, "I moved here from America four years ago with my mom and sister."

"I've been living in America," I told him, yawning and closing the book, "I came to get Guardian Hathaway and take her back to her charge."

"What?" he asked disappointedly, "that sucks, she's the most exciting thing we've had here in years. I've heard so much about her… she's practically famous."

A proud smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth, "I know. I trained her. Now come on, let's get you working with weights."

. . .

I slipped back into Rose's room, where she was still sleeping soundly, curled around a pillow, the sheets pulled tightly over her. After shutting the door I stood there for a moment, just admiring her sleeping form, before making my way over to her and snuggling into the bed behind her.

"Roza?" I whispered, kissing the sensitive inside of her ear. She mewed adorably and fidgeted away from me. I smiled and pulled her closer to me, "Wake up, Roza…"

She twisted around and planted a kiss on my lips, snuggling closer to me as she did so, then let out a little disappointed sigh when she hugged me. "You're not naked." She stated, frowning at me, "Why are you not naked?"

I began laughing at the adorable pout on her face, "If I were naked, we would be here longer than I plan."

"I have plans too," she said hooking a leg around my waist and rolled so that I was on my back underneath her, "they involve you stripping…" she leaned down to kiss me, and into my lips she mumbled, "And you're interfering with my plans."

Propping myself up on my elbows I broke the kiss. "We need to talk." I said, trying to be serious… though, being truthful, I would much rather find out what these so called plans involved.

She paused and then sat back on her knees, flipping her hair over her shoulder confidently, "Talk about what?" she asked. To anyone else it would seem she didn't have a care in the world about what I would say, but I could detect the slight quaver to her voice as she spoke.

"Don't worry, Roza," I planted a reassuring kiss against her cheek, "Just what's been going on. We haven't been talking lately."

She snorted and rolled off of me, "You think?" she shot back sarcastically, turning her face away from me and folding her arms across her chest.

"See?" I said, sitting up and brushing the hair away from her neck, "This is what we need to talk about. I didn't want to continue our relationship because – "

She cut me off by groaning and laying back on the bed, "Dimitri, I really don't think we need to talk about this."

"I need too, Roza," I turned to face her, "I need you to understand what's been happening."

She stroked the side of my face with a soft hand and kissed me gently, "I understand that you're here… with me…now… and that I love you," her eyebrows creased, "and that life without you was hell, and I don't want to talk about it."

"Rose," I kissed her cheek, "Roza… my precious Roza," I took strength from that look in her eyes, "It effects our _now,_ our being together."

She searched my face and forced a smile, "okay, fine, lets here it."

I kissed her gently, "How about we discuss this in the shower."

She seemed to perk up at that, so I lead her to the bathroom where we stripped and stepped into the water, washing each other gently as we talked. She told me about Lissa and Christian's engagement, which she seemed pretty excited about, especially since she was positive she would be the maid of honor, and Josh being Lissa's sibling, which both surprised me and confused me. Then I told her about the dreams, which she didn't take lightly, and the Strigoi that was planning on having her for a snack in the near future.

"So which one is Sebastian?" she asked, after getting over her initial shock and anger. She was standing with only a towel wrapped around her upper body, her leg on the lid of the toilet as she shaved her legs.

"Crooked nose," I said from my place at the sink, where I was shaving my stubble. "Dark hair and eyes."

She snorted, "Oh_, that_ bastard, the one that tried to bite me."

I stiffened. _I had bitten her_. I had sunk my teeth into her warm flesh to draw her blood, her life force. I had been one of those _bastards._

"Dimitri?" she asked after a moment, "Are you okay?"

I looked over towards her, "Yeah," I cleared my throat, "Just got lost for a moment." And it was true, I had those moments a lot; moments where I remembered all of the terrible things that I had done… to innocent people, to women, to children. _To Rose_.

"Roza," I whispered, stepping close to her and brushing a thick clump of her wet brown hair behind her neck. I watched as a little drop of water from behind her ear ran down her neck, over her collar bone and disappeared in the valley between her breasts, under the towel. Oh, how I wanted to follow that drop with my tongue, taste the sweetness of her skin, feel her soft flesh against my lips. I couldn't lose that. I couldn't lose _her_. Ever.

"Please stay safe," I begged, running a hand into her locks and tilting her head gently up to look at me. Her eyes, warm and brown, softly searched my face.

She touched her fingers to my lips reassuringly, "Do these dreams really scare you that much?"

I nodded and let my forehead rest against her shoulder. Rose didn't use scented soaps or shampoos, and I had only caught whiffs of perfume a few times since I had known her, but her clean skin at that moment gave off a faint smell. It was hardly there… but I locked it in my head forever. The smell of Roza.

I pulled back and smiled faintly, running a hand through my hair. She laced her fingers with mine and pulled me over to the tub, where she washed off the excess shaving cream.

"Last night," she cleared her throat as she turned off the water and swung her legs around. I sat on the bath mat and grabbed a towel to dry her legs of with. "When you were…" she trailed off blushing and glancing around the room as though she didn't want someone over hearing, and leaned in to whisper in my ear, "When you were coming…" she let that hang in the air for a moment as I patted her legs dry, "There was this moment when… it was like… something came over you… like… it was as if I was seeing into your soul."

I stopped drying her legs. I knew what she was talking about, as she had pleasured me with her hands, and I had reached my climax all I could think about was how much I never wanted this to end. Us. I never wanted anything but for us to be together. I knew it could be her last moment on earth, or she could have just days, or months, or years. I knew it could be fifty years until we were parted by death. We could be too old to walk, wrinkled and filled with joy, and it would be too soon for her to die.

"Dimitri," she brushed my hair back, "What happened?"

I shook my head and buried my face against her thigh, "I never want to lose you, Roza," I felt a tear slip down my face, "I know how fragile life is, how easily it can be taken away, and I never want to lose you."

She stood up and I was close behind, holding her hand as we went back to bed. We didn't talk or make love or anything else. We just lied down together, filled with comfort by the steady rhythm of each other's heart-beats.

_This_, I thought, _is love. It's not sex or kissing or memories. Love is when just being with someone, holding their hand and looking into their eyes, is enough to get you through anything._

**. . .**

**Well there you are… another chapter completed!**

**Editor's note: Hey guys! I really just wanted to do this for a few reasons. I know you as the audience love the lemons and I know I enjoy the tangy my author brings as well. But I feel as though this chapter deserves a round of applause and a lot of comments from you all, the faithful readers. Veronic hates these kind of chapters, the fluff, however; I would have to say and I bet you all will concur, that this is not fluff. It's actually my favorite chapter yet! Anywho so there's that, and check out my fic! (Not up yet… but Veronica will inform you when it is) **

**LOVE FOREVER,**

**Maddie**

**VeronicaT: THANKS GUYS! and Remember**

**REVIEW!**

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	13. The Escape Plan

**Okay guys. I fucked up bad. And I totally understand if you never ever, ever forgive me. :( I have been putting this off for soooo long because I was having MAJOR writers block… as in screaming at the computer. Sooo, I tried my hardest (once I looked over my reviews again I realized that you guys were needing some more of my awesome Dimitri/Rose luvin') and I got my butt in gear. Here's the latest chapter and I hope you can all forgive me for holding out so long. :( love you guys – sorry.**

**Sadly, Maddie has been banned from using the computer… meaning I shall not be able to email her ANYTHING until her punishment is up… which will be pretty soon I think…so the chapters without her input won't be AS good because of lack of editing. :( **

**I kinda made a mistake but no one seemed to notice, probably because I was really sketchy at that part, but Josh isn't Lissa's sister, Josh's half-sister (ASHLEY) is Lissa's sibling, and I just kind of messed up, but anyway, I'm just clearing that up.**

**This chapter might be a little short, but I swear I'm going to make up for it in excitement and adventure, and some nice big cliff hangers!**

**(oh, and you should all check out my tumblr! Its **_**bro-fish(dot)tumblr(dot)com**_

**. . .**

I was completely and utterly blissed out as I headed down to the gym to train my students for the day. I mean, who wouldn't be in my position? I had been blessed with amazing sex and spend the whole next day in the arms of my beautiful, Russian lover. I couldn't seem to tear my mind away from thoughts of him as I coached the teens… his gorgeous smile and body and… oh God; the things he did to me.

There was nothing that could ruin my mood, not even back talking and the punch I received in the stomach could take the smile off my face. I couldn't help but notice all the little things, like the way the plants glittered with diamonds as the sun reflected off of the fresh rain speckled plants and how lunch seemed extra yummy now that my love life was back on track.

Between my thighs there was a pleasant aching that reminded me constantly of our glorious time together… the feel of his cock stretching me open and the way he had pressed little kisses and licks against my thigh before feasting on me.

I still had a goofy grin plastered to my face when I asked the kids to pair up to spar. I called Josh away from the group and said, "I'm sorry for missing training this morning… I was just too exhausted to get up."

He eyed me, shrugging and taking an offensive stance on the opposite side of the blue sparring mat as an offer to fight, "It's cool, he was… interesting.

_That he certainly _was, I thought to myself, smirking, before attacking him. I had him flat on his back after only a few moments with a kick to the stomach.

"You're stance is still wrong," I corrected, bumping his shoulder playfully before showing him again, "But that was better, come on, once again."

After quite a few defeats, he finally raised his hands in surrender, limping his way over to one of the blue benches to grab a water bottle, "I get it, you beat me, please don't hurt me anymore."

I laughed lightly and took a swig from my own water bottle before I broke the rest of the students off for weight training, "So you have a sister right? Ashley?" I asked to Josh as I stood over him, making sure that the weight wouldn't crush him, were he to drop it.

"Yeah," he answered as he pressed, "well, she's my half-sister, she's older than me. We have the same mom, she's Moroi… _my_dad's a dhampir and Ashley's is Moroi."

I nodded, "Kind of strange don't you think?"

He made a thinking face, "Yeah, I guess. I really wasn't supposed to happen, but… well… I _did_ happen."

Absentmindedly I nodded. I needed to meet Ashley, get to know her. My biggest problem would be getting her to come back to court with me so that Lissa could change that stupid law. I might have to kidnap her, but seeing as I just got out of jail, doing something else illegal might not be good for me.

Once training was over I stayed behind and put up all the mats and weights. Truthfully I was just looking for an excuse to distract myself from the fact that I wouldn't be able to see Dimitri for another three hours due to his stupid shift, so I carefully arranged the black punching bags and piled the mats on top of each other.

Eventually I gave up, and made my way out of the dreary gym, into the sunlight and walked across campus too the bleak looking guardian quarters where I could lazily wait for Dimitri's return.

Upon entering, I closed the door and stood daintily on the spot for a moment, staring around my room.

It was simple, with generic navy blue drapes and bedspread, a kitchen with white wooden cabinets, a table and two chairs. The bed was rumpled beautifully from our lovemaking and lounging, the bedspread pulled up to disguise the indent out bodies made.

It looked _so_ comfortable. When Dimitri came back I hoped he would take me on it again, and again, but at the moment I wanted to sleep. I dropped my track pants and removed my shirt and sports bra, before climbing into bed. Hopefully when Dimitri came home after work and pulled back the covers to climb in, he would get a nice surprise at seeing my naked body ready and waiting for him.

The sheets were cool to the touch, and the comforting smell of our earlier lovemaking surrounded me as I snuggled down into overstuffed blankets and pillows, falling asleep knowing that later I might wake to the feel of Dimitri's arms around me.

"Adrian!" I exclaimed when he interrupted my nice, dreamless sleep.

He looked so relived and pleased to see me, as though he had been waiting for me to make an appearance, "Nice to see you too, Little dhampir."

I hugged him awkwardly and grinned. We were at the academy, somewhere on the edge of the woods. It was bright and the air felt like warm honey against my skin. The thick trees were green with summer foliage. I was dressed in some jeans and a shirt, Adrian's clothing mimicking mine.

His happy eyes turned serious in a second, going from bright and shining green to something darker, "Listen," he said quickly, "I've been checking in on you for the past day whenever I could but I kept missing you. They figured out what happened and they know the person who was executed wasn't the guy who killed the queen." I didn't grasp what he was saying at first, just staring at him blankly at him as he continued on, "The guardians flew out yesterday while I was passed out from drinking and will be there soon. They still think it's you, Rose. They're coming to bring you back here and have a trial."

_Trial._ That word snapped me out of whatever daze I was in, "What? But, Adrian, I didn't do it!" I said, outraged, "they can't just pin it right back on me!" then my rationality kicked in, "But… who told them they had the wrong guy?"

He sighed and looked down, pulling his fingers through his tangled scruffy hair, "I was drunk off my ass yesterday and sort of told everyone I compelled him," I gasped and squared my shoulders, ready to tell him off for his idiotic behavior, but before I could start reason caught up to me. I slouched, immediately concerned for Adrian's safety.

"Where are you now?"

"Don't worry," he told me, putting a hand on either of my shoulders, "I'm in hiding, and they aren't looking for me right now, it's you they're after. Get out of there fast: they tracked your transfer records. And get Belikov out of there too, he's in heaps of trouble. And get out quickly!"

I grabbed his hand before the dream started to fade, "Adrian!" he turned back towards me and smiled gently, "thank you so much. Without you I… I don't know where I would be. Probably still stuck at Court."

He smiled, shaking his head, rubbing one of his wrists lightly, "No you would, you would have made it by yourself. _You _could do anything."

I woke up in a panic. I had to get out of here. Now. It was still only five and I had to find Dimitri and Ashley before the guardians got here.

Rolling off the bed I reached under and found the backpack full of cash, then, I hurried to slip on a shirt, some jeans and a hat, tucking another shirt in the pack.

I glanced around the room again and sighed, looking longingly towards the rumpled, warm bed. Why couldn't I be normal? Why couldn't my amazing boyfriend come home and spend the rest of the day watching movies, eating ramen noodles and making love to me?

I wrote a quick note, in case I didn't find Dimitri before I had to make a break for it, giving him some coded instructions to meet me at his family's house, if he didn't make it back, and left it on the bed, praying to God he found it and not the guardians if they stormed the room. I only hope my vague instructions made sense.

At the door I put on my black and white pumas and was out of the room, not bothering to shut it behind me. I tried to look as inconspicuous as possible, strolling across campus with nothing but the clothes off my back and a backpack with a few thousand dollars stuffed inside.

About half was too the novice dorms I realized that it was dinner time and I should probably head towards the cafeteria, so I turned around and went in that direction. As I guessed, dinner was in full swing. Looking around for Josh I eventually spotted him, sitting at a table with just a few other people.

I made my way towards him. "Hey!" I greeted, stopping beside him, "Can I talk to you for a moment, and you're sister."

He looked at me quizzically, before getting up and crossing the cafeteria to a table full of Moroi girls. They reminded me of the 'bitch' crowd from St. Vladimir's.

Josh said something to one of the girls who threw a disgusted look at him before saying something snarky that made all the girls laugh. He went pink, before saying something else, that made all their laughter die down and their mocking smiles turn to glares.

The girl stood and shook out her hair, wearing silly high heels and dark jeans. She was beautiful, and next to her I felt self-conscious in faded, ripped Salvation Army jeans and an unflattering tee-shirt.

As she moved closer I could see her resemblance to the Dragomirs. Their hair, eyes, and skin were identically colored, and I knew that from the back I wouldn't be able to tell her apart from Liss. Where Lissa looked like her mother, there was no mistaking how similar to Andre and Eric Dragomir, Ashley was. The high eyebrows, the thin lips and round eyes could have made her Andre's twin. It was surprising that Josh and Ashley were brother and sister, he being dark haired and tanned and she so light.

"Ashley," I stuck out my hand to shake hers, "I'm Guardian Hathaway." She glanced disgustedly down at my hand and crossed her arms over her chest, looking away.

Immediately I was flushed with anger. This girl was _not _going to act like this towards me, or _any _guardian for that matter. I continued to hold out my hand for her to shake, glaring at her through narrowed eyes. After not saying anything for several moments her light eyes flickered back to mine hesitantly, only for her to draw back slightly from the look of loathing on my face. Glancing down towards my still outstretched hand she tentatively took my hand gently, and I squeezed and gave her whole arm a rough shake.

Her eyes locked with mine and something passed between us; a declaration of our dislike for each other. I'm sure the disgust we held for each other could almost be felt in the air around us. She was one of those people that treated Guardian's like they were shit… and I was one of those people that was to outspoken to let anyone like her near me or my best friend. For a moment I almost considered just saying, "Forget it," and walking off. _But…_ then I reminded myself that Lissa needed this girl… fuck.

Turning back towards the more polite and well-rounded of the siblings, I motioned for them to follow me as I pushed open the red cafeteria doors and walked down the hallway and towards the parking lot, listening to the three pairs of feet piercing the ongoing silence in the hall.

We made our way out the door and started across the grass, almost making it to the front gates when, taking me completely by surprise, several black SUV's made their way around the corner from the edge of the trees. Cursing, I hissed, "Get back!" and pushed the kids behind a clump of bushes, ducking just out of sight after them.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ashley yelled, her voice loud enough to carry to the parking lot, "My shirt!" she gasped, outraged, as I shoved her to the ground, causing her sleeve to snag on a branch and slash. I didn't have the time or patience to apologize, instead just opting to shush her.

From my spot behind the shrubbery, I could peak through a gap in the leaves and see that out of the SUV's came a small army of guardians. As far as I could see all were at least as big as Dimitri and very mean looking, dressed in all black with an assortment of weapons hanging from their belts and across their backs. Once they had all exited the cars the marched towards the gates of the academy, no less than twenty feet away from us. I counted seventeen armed men… most likely coming for me.

I let out a string of swears that surprised even me.

"Hey!" Ashley said loudly, right in my ear, "Guardian whatever your name is! What are you doing!"

My hand flew to her mouth and I covered it immediately. Turning my gaze on her I said harshly, "Shut up."

She looked unaffected by this, almost board in a way, sneering down at me with those perfectly plucked eyebrows arched high in a degrading manor. Only a closer look would revile the tremble in her chin and the glassy look in her eyes that showed just how confused and freaked out she was.

I took a deep breath, this would require a lot of explaining, and frankly I didn't have time, not with the guardians marching through the gates. I looked around quickly and found a more suitable place to hide within ten feet.

"I'll explain later, but right now, we need to get to that line of hedges beside that building without the guardians seeing us." We ended up slithering on our bellies across the grass until we got behind the bushes. Crouching down in the water drainage ditch, I rested my back against the wall, waiting for the guardians to file into the building.

The teens beside me seemed confused, so I took a long breath and addressed Ashley.

"Do you know who your dad is?"

For a moment she didn't respond, only looking shocked for a moment before her eyes narrowed to slits and she glared at me, "What does _that _have to do with _anything_!" she spat rather loudly.

I shushed her and glared, looking around to make sure no one had discovered our presence.

I took a deep breath, studying her, looking into those eyes… those eyes that were exactly like Lissa's… that rich, light, grey green.

"I know him," I sighed, "Well, I mean, I knew him… he's… been dead for a while now. I paused for a moment to let my words sink in. Her face had gone blank, shut down, like she had withdrawn into herself to process my words, "But… I also know your sister… Her name is Lissa… Valissa Dragomir, and she really, _really _needs you right now."

Her head snapped up and her eyes widened, flicking back and forth between mine; searching. Finally after a moment she glared, "Shut up! You're lying!" her normal voice had lowered into something deeper and colder, and for a moment, I wondered whether she was a spirit user and the darkness was plaguing her… but quickly counted it out for its improbability.

"I swear," I told her quickly, "I'm Rose Hathaway, bondmate to the princess, and all I need is to get some blood tests done to prove that you're sisters, and then you can come right back here, or you can go anywhere you want."

"No," she said, shaking her head and backing away from me, "My dad was… he was…"

"_A good guy that your mother was really in love with and-_" I stopped to think, "What did she feed you? He died before you were born? He was a successful businessman that just left? He was a Mafia boss and wanted to protect you?" I sighed, "His name was Eric Dragomir and he had a wife and kids and what he had with your mom was just a brief affair."

What I was saying was mean, and had probably offended her to a great degree, but I was going to use that to my advantage.

"No!" she said loudly, then huffed and lowered her voice, "He loved my mom! He loved me too! And he had to leave! He's not dead! He's… he's…"

I nodded, "Okay, fine, whatever." I crossed my arms across my chest, "You keep on believing whatever your mom told you, it's probably right… _but…_ I know for a _fact_, that for the rest of your life you're going to look back on this conversation and wonder whether or not I was telling the truth." She glared, and Josh opened his mouth as if to defend her. "_Or_…" I started, "I can take you back to court with me… and we can get some blood tests done… and _then _you can be sure…"

She looked at a loss for words and Josh was fuming beside her, glaring at me with a look of pure, unadulterated loathing.

Ashley looked as though she was still deciding… but I was pretty sure I knew what the verdict was, "Alright then!" I rocked forward on the balls of my feet and peaked over the edge of the bushes, "to get the hell out of here…"

And then I realized something… something that could greatly decrease the likelihood of our escape…

I didn't have a car.

.

**If you could please review that would be nice (feel free to give me pointers… but don't be too harsh please!)**


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